The Development of Raven
by VirginAuthor
Summary: Raven is working on becoming more *shudder* approachable. Cyborg wants a chance to develop a relationship with Bumblebee so Raven and Bumblebee trade towers for awhile. While away, Raven makes some changes... will her friends like the 'new' Raven?
1. Down in the Garage

Bringing about the end of the world changed a person

Ok, this is my first teen titans fic. I was working on my Harry Potter fic, but I keep coming back to this idea and I just can't finish those stories with this idea in there. It is causing major writers block so here it is. I love reviews, they make my day.

**Summery:** Raven is working on becoming more shudder approachable. Cyborg wants a chance to develop a relationship with Bumblebee so Raven and Bumblebee trade towers for awhile. Now the boys in Titans East have a dark empath to deal with and how will our Boy Wonder deal with the loss of a teammate and friend? I am not sure about pairing yet. Might be Rae/Rob but not sure yet.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own any of it. Would be nice though. Sigh Oh well, if wishes were fishes, there would be no room in the ocean for water. (Wonder if anyone knows what book that one came out of.)

XXXXXXXX

Bringing about the end of the world changed a person. It happened slowly and subtly, but she was changing slowly everyday. After defeating her father, Raven had felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders. All of a sudden the thought of her birthday did not fill her with fear and dread. For the first time in her life she did not know what the future would bring, so she made a vow to herself. She was going to start on the development of Raven.

That was how it started. She had decided that she would no longer seek the solitude of her room. She was making an effort to be more a part of the group. That was how she found herself down in Cyborg's garage. Beast Boy and Robin were upstairs playing their new video game. Their new, very loud videogame. It was something full of death, destruction, and mayhem and the noise was enough to drive a person up the wall. Add to that the voices yelling good natured insults and proclaiming their superiority and the sound was deafening.

Raven had tried for half an hour to read. She had even gone so far as to try and watch the game, but it held no interest for her. Honestly what do boys see in this stuff? She had wandered out of the main room towards her room. It would be so easy to just push the button and sit in solitude. Her hand was actually on the door when she heaved a sigh. Raven was not one to back down. She had said she would not hide away in her room and she would try with the others, so she walked off again.

She knew she could not go to the living room again. The noise was really getting to her, and an empath with a migraine was not a good thing. A grumpy empath with powers controlled by emotions with a migraine was really not a good thing. She thought about going to the roof for a few minutes of peace, but she decided that was the same as hiding away in her room.

Raven had made strides with being more involved with her friends. She and Starfire did 'the hanging out' at least a few times a week. They would meditate together, wander the mall or the park, or sometimes just sit in the main room. However, the thought of the overly enthusiastic alien made the migraine pound even harder. Raven knew her limits, and she did not want to snap and say something that would hurt Star's feelings.

That left only one place where someone would be. Raven's eyes went dark and she phased through the floor. She reappeared in the garage. There stood Cyborg working on his T-car. The radio was on and he was humming along with the music. He was even singing aloud a bit. Raven was silent as she moved forward. Her shadow came into the view of Cyborg. The titan turned and looked up in surprise at seeing Raven there. He cleared his throat as he realized he had been caught singing a bit. His embarrassment was quickly covered up as he realized who was there. Within in seconds he was ready to run off to help fight whatever bad guy was out now. "Hey Rae, is something wrong?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Does something have to be wrong for me to want to spend time with my friends?" Her voice was quiet and unemotional as always. Cyborg returned her look. The music was still blaring in the background.

"No, but it isn't something you have ever done before. So what really brings you down here?"

Raven sighed. She was debating how much to actually reveal. She decided that a partial truth would work for the moment. "I didn't want to sit in my room to read my book and Robin and Beast Boy are playing their new video game." Raven spotted a stool over by the work bench. An idea hit her. She turned back to Cyborg. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind the company. I thought I could just sit and read while you work."

Cyborg gave her a confused look. "You want to hang out in the garage…and read?" Raven nodded. Cyborg looked at her, trying to figure out if she was serious. Finally he shrugged. "As long as you don't mind the music." Raven gave him a small smile. It didn't even lift the corners of her mouth, but her friends had come to know that the softening of her mouth was really a Raven smile.

"Trust me, you could have the radio at full blast and you would still be drowned out by the noise those two are making." Cyborg chuckled and went back to work. Raven walked to stood and sat, opening her book. It was silent between the two, but not uncomfortable. Every once in awhile Raven would glance up to see what Cyborg was working on before glancing back down at her book. Cyborg would glance up to see a peaceful Raven quietly flipping pages. The feelings in the room were quiet contentment and the empath felt her migraine slowly leave.

They were like this for some time before Raven felt the feelings change. At the sound of Cyborg's stomach Raven smirked. It didn't take an empath to know he was hungry. She did know that he didn't want to stop working to run up and get food through. Without waiting for him to say anything Raven set her book on the workbench and she phased out of the room.

Cyborg glanced up smiling to see that Raven was gone. He frowned. He had not even noticed her departure. With a shrug he went back to work, but he had to fight off a little irritation. The least she could have done was say goodbye. He was surprised that the dark girl's presence had not distracted him like he had though it would. In fact, he could say that he enjoyed having her there. Raven was naturally quiet and in this tower that was sometimes needed, badly.

He had gone back to working when a plate was pressed into his line of vision. He blinked and looked up. There stood Raven with a plate of food. On it sat his left over Chinese, his turkey leg he had been saving, and a can of soda. Dumbly he reached out to take the plate. After a moment he smiled. "Thanks Raven. How did you know?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Empath." He chuckled and followed her to the workbench. She sat back down and picked up her book. Next to her was a cup of herbal tea. He grabbed the turkey leg and began to munch, feeling his hunger subside a bit. He wiggled the leg of meat in front of her.

"Sure you don't want a bite? It's meat tastic."

She lowered the book to look at him. "No." The book raised again. A second later the book again lowered to reveal amethyst eyes. "But thank you." Again the book was raised. Cyborg chuckled and finished off his snack before going off to work on the car again.

XXXXXX

That had been the start of it. Soon Raven found herself down in the garage more and more frequently. They still did not talk a lot while down there, but they were becoming closer. One day Raven had walked down to sit on her stool to find that it had been replaced with an overstuffed chair. The chair was perfect for curling up with a good book. Under the workbench Cyborg had also installed a small bookshelf for Raven and he had taken the liberty of placing a few books there. Raven had stroked the titles, a small emotion blooming in her chest. Neither said a word, but she turned and smiled. This time, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly and Cyborg winked at her all the while grinning like an idiot.

Another day she noticed that the music was your typical Cyborg music. Jazz was playing instead. When she raised an eyebrow at him he just shrugged.

"I heard you listening to it the other day. I figure it's only fair you get to have a choice in music too." They had never said anything else about it, but after that the music was a mix of what they both enjoyed. Soon Cyborg would glance up and ask Raven for a tool. He would patiently wait for it, helping her when she didn't know which one he was talking about. Raven was a quick learner and soon she could use her powers to send the proper tool to Cy.

Slowly she learned what each tool was used for and she would ask questions about what he was doing. Soon, the books were forgotten when she was down in the garage. The two friends would work together for hours and that was how they first started to talk. As they worked on the various vehicles and gadgets they would ask each other questions. Soon it became a game as to who could ask the toughest or most embarrassing question. This was the first place Cyborg ever heard Raven laugh.

It was comfortable place and their friendship blossomed. Even the team was noticing that the two were closer. When fighting, Raven could almost anticipate Cyborg's moves and he was the first to high five her when the fight was finished. When they went to eat or when they went out Raven and Cyborg seemed to know what the other would order. This caused some raised eyebrows, but they chalked it down to becoming closer as a team.

No one bothered them at the tower however. No one intruded on their garage time. They didn't ever ask where the two went. It was like they knew that the two didn't want to be disturbed and yet no one would have guessed that little Raven was slowly becoming as good as Cyborg when it came to the electronics of the tower. They assumed that she continued to read down there with him. (It had not escaped Robin's notice that a bookshelf and chair had found their way down into the garage.)

This was her safe place. She was slowly starting to reveal more of herself to Cyborg. He was someone who knew a lot about her thanks to their questioning game. She was starting to smile more around him and she had even given him an awkward hug once or twice. He was placing an arm around her shoulders more and more often. It was a really strong friendship.

In fact Raven and Cyborg were developing a deep enough relationship that they even began to discuss love lives. Raven had of course rolled her eyes at him. "What love life?" But Cyborg had pressed.

"Remember the rules; if I answer a question, you have to answer a question of my choice. So I want to know who has Raven's interest." He wiggled his eyes suggestively at her. Raven had rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Then she smiled and Cyborg felt his heart drop. That smile could not be good.

"Ok, I'll answer your question. If you answer me this, when was the last time you got a piece?"

"Excuse me?" His ears must have heard wrong. Quiet little Raven did not just ask him that.

She looked at him with arms crossed, waiting. It was always unnerving to see how she didn't move. There was always a stillness with her. Even levitating she did not bounce about, but remained perfectly still. "Well, I have to assume that you have not gotten any from Bumblebee lately and that is why you are now so obsessed with my love life. Do you need to live vicariously through me?"

He was at a loss for words. "What? No! My love life is perfectly fine and you do not need to know when I last got a piece thank you very much."

She shrugged. "Fine, then I don't have to answer your question." Raven slowly exited the garage.

It was then that it dawned on him that she had just won the round. He chuckled to himself. Oh she would not win forever, he knew that.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ok, that's the start. I promise the pairings will come out. The next chapter will have some more development on the relationships between Raven and some of the other Titans. It isn't exactly what I envisioned so far, but I think it came out ok. Let me know.


	2. Connections

Ok, so this is not really how I imagined the story going, but it has a mind of it's own. Let me know what you think.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Raven leaned against the kitchen counter sipping at her tea. It was early morning and the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. She was content watching the rays slowly sprinkle the sky with color. She stood and stretched out tight back muscles. Yesterday had been a difficult fight against Cinderblock. Cyborg was gone so they were already down a titan. He was off visiting Bumblebee since it had been rather slow. Cinderblock was easily taken care off, but he seemed to think that Raven was his own personal rattle. She had been slammed into the building twice and shaken badly before she was able to blast him.

Raven took her tea over to the oversized windows. She gave a happy sigh and she phased up to the roof. Here the wind was chilly, but she didn't mind. She stood, the wind blowing her hair back from her face. She closed her eyes and held her cup of tea close. From behind her she felt him come in.

Robin had seen that Raven was up. Her tea things were all over the counter. He had not seen her in the main room so there was only one other place he knew he would find her on a morning like this. He had made his way up to the roof. When he got there he felt his eyes widen. There stood Raven, the Dark Girl, the strong silent terror of Titans Tower standing on the roof in her pajamas. Robin didn't know what struck him about this, it was hardly the first time he had caught her on the roof. Usually she was in uniform, but it was not uncommon to find her in her pajamas in nowadays.

He watched her for a moment more before it dawned on him. Her feet were bare. She was actually stretching up on her tiptoes and something about that made her seem…vulnerable. He shook his head. The word vulnerable was not anything one ever associated with Raven. But here she was and she did seem so open and carefree. There was even a small smile on her face. He felt a pang. They did not see that smile on her face that often and he knew that they really should.

Before that train of thought could get going Raven turned around and the smile was gone. It was back to serious, strong Raven. "Good Morning. I didn't expect anyone to be up so early."

Robin shrugged and walked to stand next to her. "Couldn't sleep anymore." No more words were needed. She simply nodded. They enjoyed the rest of the sunrise in quiet appreciation. Raven glanced at him.

"Cy will be home soon. We should probably get breakfast started." Robin looked at her in surprise.

"Have you already talked to him?"

"No." Raven offered no more explanation. He sighed.

"Well, how do you know?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How do I know any of you are here? How did I know it was you on the roof and not Beast Boy?"

Robin returned the look. "Because I was silent."

Raven chuckled. Not a big laugh, but a small sign of amusement. Robin was thrown. He rarely heard her laughter and every time he did it had the same affect on him. At first he was surprised and then he felt a warm glow enter his chest. He always felt like he could do anything if he could make her laugh. The first time he had heard it he went around smiling for the rest of the day. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

He laughed a bit. "Seriously, I didn't think your empath powers reached that far."

Raven was serious again. She shrugged. "The more time I spend with someone, the better I know them, the further it stretches. I knew when he was a few miles out of town." She closed her eyes briefly. "He's just passing the bridge. He'll be home in a few minutes."

For anyone else this might have seemed like bragging, but Robin knew that this was Raven. She was simply stating a fact. He gave her a look. "So you could tell if any of us were that far off."

Raven shook her head. "I have been spending a lot of time getting to know Cyborg. He probably knows more about me than either of the other two. I can feel him further off than either Star or Beast Boy. I could probably find Star within a few miles. Beast Boy would be a little less than that."

"What about me?" He didn't know why he asked, but it irked him that she had not mentioned him when she talked about finding her teammates.

She turned her full gaze to him as she began to walk towards the door. "You are different." It was a simple statement. Robin rushed ahead and opened the door. He looked down into those big eyes. She was not going to elaborate and all of a sudden it was very important to him that she did.

"Why?"

She gave him her little half smile. "Do you really need to ask? You have said it before. We have a bond. I would have known when you left the East Tower." She turned and walked into the Tower leaving Robin staring down at her retreating form.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that she had mentioned their bond but she had said nothing about how well he knew her. When she mentioned Cyborg she talked about how well she knew him but with him it was only the bond their shared. He started down the stairs trying to shake the thought, but it was there now and it was refusing to leave.

XXXXXXXX

By the time Robin had made it down the stairs, Raven had been proven right. Walking in the door of the living room was Cyborg. Robin watched as Cyborg spotted Raven. A huge smile came over his features. He walked over to her. She was smiling at him. "Hey Dark Girl. Missed me?"

Robin watched as Raven reached up to her friend. Cyborg reached down to pick her up in a bear hug. It wasn't overly exuberant or filled with overflowing emotion, but it was the first hug Robin had seen Raven given another person. In fact, he could only think of a handful of hugs Raven had ever given willingly and he was always on the receiving end. Robin felt his blood begin to heat a bit. Why did she greet Cy like that and no one else? His mind went back to her earlier comment. _He probably knows more about me than either of the other two. _

Cyborg chuckled. "Well if you are giving me hugs then I will take that as a yes." Cyborg spotted Robin. "Hey Rob. What are you doing up so early?"

Robin could still feel his irritation for some unknown reason. When he answered he knew he was being short, but he couldn't seem to help himself. "I could say the same about you. We didn't expect you until dinner at the earliest."

Cyborg raised his brows at his tone. "Well they had a really early wake up call. We had just finished up one bad guy and another call came up. We decided that we wouldn't get much more us time so I headed out very early this morning." He glanced down at Raven. "Besides, I wanted to make sure that Sunshine over here hadn't killed BB in my absence."

Raven snorted as she began to pull various ingredients from the fridge and various cupboards. "I refrained. But barely." Robin watched as Cyborg walked over to Raven in the kitchen. Without a word the two began to mix and prepare the batter and such for waffles. Something about it made him even more irritated. Since when did they have the silent communication? Trying to take control of his emotions Robin called out.

"Need any help."

"Nope, I think Rae and I have it covered Rob. Thanks though." A few minutes later everything was prepped and Raven stretched.

"I think I will shower before the others are up. Save some waffles for me." Robin and Cyborg watched Raven pad out of the living room. Again Robin was struck by her bare feet. It was unRaven.

Robin looked at Cy. "So you're teaching her to cook?"

Cy looked surprised at the comment. Robin realized that Cy had reacted to his tone. He really needed to get his irritation under control. "Yeah, for a few weeks now. It's just some basics but I figure might as well teach her to cook especially if she decided to be nice again for the heck of it."

Robin just nodded and turned to the TV. Cyborg raised his eyebrows again but then shrugged and went back to tending to waffles.

XXXXXXXX

When the doors closed behind her Raven took a deep breath. She didn't know when she noticed a change in her feelings, but they were steadily increasing. She noticed them every time he was in the room. She noticed everything, she swore she even felt his every minute.

So far she had been able to hide the feelings from everyone, but she was not sure how much longer she could keep it up. They spent almost every morning together talking quietly and it was quickly becoming her favorite time of day. No one else was up and it was just them. Every time he casually touched her she felt her powers surge. She was hard pressed to control them during those times. Now, whenever he was close she started to have trouble. She knew that something had to change soon, because if they didn't she was going to have some explaining to do when things began to explode.

When Cy had asked her about her love life she had tried to use sarcastic remarks to get out of it. It had worked so far, but she knew Cyborg would not let this go for long. Eventually he would catch on that Raven had a crush on their young leader. She shuddered to think about what would happen to the team then. She knew it was one sided, but it didn't make it any easier. Standing on the roof this morning with him had been exquisite torture. She desperately wanted to stay up there with him and yet she wanted him to go away.

She rubbed her hands over her face trying to rub away thoughts and feelings. She walked again to the showers, hoping it would help. Something told her it was not going to.

XXXXXXXXX

Cyborg retired to his room soon after breakfast for a quick nap. There was enough food for Star and BB when they woke up but for now he was ready for a recharge. As he left, he saw Rob and Rae sitting on the couch. Rob was channel surfing and Rae was reading. Rob leaned back and placed a hand on the back of the couch, his fingers just brushing Rae's shoulders. Cyborg watched as Raven jumped slightly, pulling away from the touch. That was the first time he realized why Raven had not wanted to answer his love questions. He shook his head at the young girl. Oh Rae, no wonder you didn't want to talk about it. He looked up again before retiring to his room for much needed rest.

A few hours later he entered the room to a highly amusing sight. There was Beast Boy hanging upside down by his ankle. Raven's dark energy had a hold of him and he was dangling high above the couch. He was calling out her name and pleading with Robin to help him.

Starfire was watching it all with a confused smile on her face. Robin was talking with Raven who looked bored and defiant. He walked further in and he could hear the conversation.

Robin slowly shook his head. He was trying to reason with the pissed off empath. Why did Beast Boy have to go after her things? You would think he would learn. He sighed, "Raven, remember our talk?"

Raven looked at him, her head cocked to the side. "Which one is that?"

Robin pointed to beast boy, trapped in a black bubble, now floating above the kitchen. "Raven, this is bad touching."

She crossed her arms and huffed at Beast Boy. "You are so lucky they were here." She pulled back her energy and BB dropped right into Cy's arms.

"Good to see you BB." He set the changeling on the ground and smiled at Raven. The rest of the day went normally. Yes, it was good to be home.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

I was going to continue, but the next conversation is going to be a long one I think, so I am putting it off until next chapter.


	3. Confessions

Robin slowly shook his head

Later that night Raven and Cyborg were down in the garage cleaning up the T-car after its long trip over the weekend. They had been working silently for some time before he brought up the taboo subject.

"So Rae, how long?"

He felt her stiffen next to him. "How long what?"

"How long have you been in love with Rob?"

Her voice went flat and unemotional. A sure sign he struck a note. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Sure you do." Cyborg sat back and waited for his friend to talk to him. Raven was working on being more emotionally open with her friends, but it was something still very difficult for her. He turned away from her and went back to working under the hood. "Hey, Rae, will you pass me the…" Before he could finish the sentence the tool he wanted floated before him. He chuckled. "You are getting really good. Soon you might be as good as me."

Raven looked bored. "Not a great challenge."

"Ouch, you wound me." Cyborg tried to put on a hurt face, but was failing. Raven was rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face. It was still odd to see Raven show even this amount of emotion.

"So, how was your trip?" She went back to helping him with the car, as serious as ever. Cyborg shook his head at her.

"Sorry Rae, you aren't getting out of this that easy. I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

Raven shrugged. "Nothing to tell. I am not in love with Robin."

Cyborg set the tools down and turned to fully face her. Raven was concentrating on the engine with such force that he was amazed something was not blowing up. "Look Rae, I thought we were making strides. I thought you would know I would catch on sooner or later. I saw you this morning with him and I knew."

She gave a sigh and turned to face him. "You want the truth?"

"Yes." He stood with arms crossed waiting patiently.

"I am not in love with Robin." At his snort she tried to explain. "It's not love. I really can't say its love, but I do like him. It's more of a crush really." Even as she said it she wrinkled her nose in dislike. The word crush was not something you would associate Raven with at all. It was much too feminine for the sarcastic girl.

"Ok, then let me rephrase my question. When did you start to notice your _crush_?" He put emphasis on the word just to watch her eyes narrow a bit. "And did you actually think I wouldn't notice?"

"Well, I thought I was doing so well hiding it that I could get away with it for awhile." She frowned at him "Am I really that obvious?"

"Only to the ones that know you."

She sighed and leaned back. "I was afraid of that." She looked up with something like fear in her eyes. That confused him. "Do you think he knows?"

Cyborg now understood. "I don't think he knows."

She gave a sigh of relief. "Well, thank goodness for little miracles."

Cyborg placed a brotherly arm around her shoulders. "What would be so bad about him knowing?"

Raven gave a dark chuckle. "And what good would that do?" She turned from him and began to work again hoping that was the end of the conversation. Cyborg was not finished however. He didn't like the defeated slump of her shoulders. It was not like the Raven he knew and had grown to love.

"Well, he may say that he returns the feelings. Ever thought about that?"

Her voice was soft. "I don't need to wonder. I know."

"You mean you have talked to him?" Raven looked up and gave him a look. It was usually a look she reserved for Beast Boy. It was a look that told him he was a complete moron.

"Empath, remember?"

Cyborg rubbed at the back of his neck in a sheepish way. "Sorry, I keep forgetting." Raven rolled her eyes and turned away again. "So that's the only reason you haven't said anything?"

Raven sighed. "You aren't going to let this go are you?"

"Nope." He grinned at her good naturedly. Raven shook her head and began to clean off her hands.

"Fine, but not here. I don't trust Beast Boy and this is not something I want overheard." She climbed in the T-car. Cy walked over to the drivers side. Raven turned to him. "And you have to buy the pizza."

XXXXXXXXX

Soon they were sitting at an open table eating pizza. It was a quiet evening with few people out. The weather was warm and the sun was slowly sinking. Raven nibbled lightly on her slice while Cy proceeded to consume the rest of the pizza. When they had finally finished, the friends sat back and watched the sun set. Cy finally leaned over.

"Ok, time to get back to the story you were starting."

Raven gave a brief nod and refused to look at him. It was difficult for her to open up this much with anyone, even someone she had grown close to. She knew that if she looked at him she would not be able to finish this highly embarrassing conversation.

"To answer your earlier question; I don't know. I don't know when my feelings began to change from friendship to something…more. A part of me always knew that I cared about him. When Slade came back on my birthday, well I knew that Robin was the one that could help me. I knew I wanted to share something with him, some piece of me. I guess that was when I started to notice it. He was the one I was trusting with my darkest secret. For me, that is a really big deal." Raven paused to take a breath. Cyborg waited, not daring to move a muscle. He knew what this was taking for her to admit things like this. He did not want to spook her. Raven continued.

"After that I found myself searching out his company. I didn't really know why, but he made me feel safe and wanted. He was the first Titan to really make me feel accepted. After the whole Malchior thing, well he went out of his way to prove to me that I was wanted. I have always been an early riser but Robin was never that far behind me. Well, he started to get up earlier and earlier. Sometimes he would even beat me up and I would walk in to see my tea ready and waiting for me. He would notice little things, like if I was having a good day or not or if I had made an effort with Starfire or Beast Boy. He would smile at me for no reason or throw an arm over my shoulders and I noticed that I was enjoying being held. During our mornings we just talk. Not about anything in particular. Sometimes about a fight or a problem or just about what we were reading in the newspaper. He makes me feel comfortable and safe. I have known for some time, but there isn't really a day when it hit me. It was gradual. Does that help you understand?"

It was the first time Raven had looked at him and Cyborg saw emotions run very close to the surface. He knew that she would have to change the topic soon in order to regain control of her emotions. He nodded. He knew he could push just a little more and that would be it.

"So you said you have reached out to see what his feelings are, but how can you be sure? I mean some guys don't know what they have until it smacks them across the face."

Raven looked down at the iced tea in her hands. She studied the condensation drops on the side of the glass. They slipped slowly, meeting one another as they ran down the side of her glass. She began to breathe in and out. She could feel her emotions rise to the surface and she calmed her mind and body. When she spoke again, she was back in control and her voice was once again unemotional and steady.

"Even if I thought I had a chance, I wouldn't do anything. He is taken after all."

Cyborg gave her a look. "Taken? Rob isn't dating anyone. He isn't taken."

"He doesn't have to be dating someone to be taken."

"Huh?"

"Starfire."

Cyborg looked up at her. He shook his head. "Rae, those two have had years to hook up. I know they flirt and there might be something there, but don't you think that if they were going to hook up they would have done so?"

Again the dark chuckle came out. "Again I will remind you I am an empath. There is interest there."

"You went searching their emotions?"

Raven shook her head. "No. I explained this to Robin earlier. The closer I am to people, the easier it is to sense them. It is also easier for me to pick up their emotions. I don't go looking for them all the time. Sometimes I just know without trying. Also, if the emotion is strong enough, I can't ignore it. There are times I can feel that emotion rooms away. I know when you are upset at the car, or when Beast Boy is trying to be sneaky about a joke. I just know without searching. Trust me, any time they walk into the room with each other you can feel it."

"Love?"

Again she shook her head. "No. They don't really know. It is attraction but I do not know about love. I think they are confused about what they feel."

"Then they may not love each other. Who is to say you aren't the one for Robin. I still say you should tell him. I have seen you two together. You seem so comfortable and at ease with him. I really thought that you were the best of friends. You both seem to know what the other is thinking. I mean I just started to realize that you were jumpy around him. After our little questioning session I put two and two together."

"Did you now?" It was a comment meant to lighten the mood and to lead away from the subject, but Cyborg was like a dog with a bone. He was not letting this go.

"No changing the subject Rae. I have seen you two. You make a great team. Why not give him the chance to be happy with you?"

"You mean besides the fact that he only feels deep friendship for me?"

"Hey, I maintain some guys need to be beaten over the head with it before they realize when they have something good. So why not?"

"I thought I answered this. Starfire."

"And again I say that if something was going to happen, it would have happened already. They have had years, Rae. Nothing has happened and I think there is a reason for that. Time for a new choice. Maybe he just doesn't think you could return the feelings."

Raven sighed. "That doesn't matter. I have felt their feelings. They care about each other and I care about them. Starfire is my friend. Robin is my friend. Because of that I won't make him choose."

"They are my friends too Raven."

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damn you are stubborn. Fine, let's assume for one second that I go with your idea. I tell Robin that I like him. Now what?"

"Well, you see where it goes."

Raven gave him a sad look. "Exactly. I see where it goes. You think I haven't contemplated this? I know how it will go. Say that Robin now has a choice between us. Say that he picks me. Now what about Starfire? It is no secret that she cares for Robin and that they are trying to figure out their feelings. Now things would be awkward for Star and I and between Robin and Star. With this scenario I hurt Starfire and the team suffers. Now look at the other option. Robin still chooses Starfire and now it is awkward between Robin and I as well as between Star and I. I hurt both Star and Robin and the tension hurts the team. Either way someone is hurt that I care about and the team suffers. Besides it is like choosing fire and ice. I don't know a guy that would give up the sunshine queen for the ice queen."

Cyborg was ready to interrupt. "No. I learned a long time ago that you don't always get what you want. I do not need love. You can live without love. I have his friendship and that is enough." One look at her face and Cyborg knew he needed to back off. She was sitting low in her seat obviously emotionally exhausted. Without a word, he stood up and held out a hand. He pulled her into a tight hug. A small tear squeezed from her eye before she could control it. Cyborg whispered into her ear.

"I think you are making a mistake. But I will let it drop for now." He pulled out of the hug. "Let's go home." Raven nodded and took his arm. It had been a very long evening.

XXXXXXXX

The next morning Raven awoke feeling refreshed. It had been difficult to reveal that much to Cyborg, but this morning she was feeling light and happy. It had been a relief to share her feelings with someone else rather than keeping them closed in. She stretched and headed into the main room.

She entered to see the pale sun just creeping up, bathing the water before the tower in a beautiful light. She passed the kitchen to stand by the windows. She reached out with her power and turned on the radio and was pleasantly surprised to hear a soft jazz tune. Raven liked a very eclectic mix of music. She liked dark music and poetry, things that were loud and sad by nature. Few knew that she enjoyed jazz though. There was something that moved her. Music was a way to express emotions she could not otherwise express. The mellow notes seemed to just go with the morning sun rising and with her happy mood.

She closed her eyes and smiled softly at the notes. The piano played softly in the background with a deep bass beat keeping it company. A sax began to play a soft melody, slow and yet happy and content. She hugged herself and raised her face to the coming sun.

She was so in tune with the music that almost didn't feel him. Almost. She opened her eyes to come face to face with the one causing her so much emotional upheaval. He smiled at her and she wondered for the millionth time what his eyes really looked like. What emotions would show there. Not that she needed to see his eyes, but she always wondered. He held out a cup to her. It was steaming softly and she cradled it in her hands. She knew she should say something, but to talk would ruin this mood, this perfect moment in time. Robin seemed to understand because he just nodded to her. They stood side by side, not saying a word. They watched the sun come up, two friends.

The jazz tune ended and the mood was broken. They walked over to the kitchen. Raven sat at a stool while Robin began to cook his breakfast. Still no words seemed to form. This was their typical morning routine. They were simply enjoying each others company and they didn't need words. It was her favorite time of day.

She felt his emotions shift slightly. He wanted to talk and he didn't know what to say. She raised a brow at him. It was not like Robin to beat around the bush. She huffed into her tea. "What?"

Robin jumped slightly. "Huh?"

"You wanted to ask me something. What?"

Robin had been living with Raven long enough that the fact that she knew he wanted to talk to her did not surprise him. In fact, he should have expected it. He laughed slowly. "It's nothing really. I just noticed that you and Cy weren't at dinner last night." He paused, expecting a reply, an explanation. He didn't know why, not really. The team didn't always eat together. In fact they often did their own things. But he had seen them come home and go straight to their rooms and he had felt a…tickle. That was the only way he could think to describe it. He had felt a tickle in the bond he and Raven shared.

"No we weren't." Raven agreed, but said no more. She sipped slowly on her tea some more. She loved the feel of the hot liquid as it ran down her throat.

"So…what did you two do?"

"We went to pizza. We talked. He has been gone for two weeks."

Robin felt a slight irritation. That was the only explanation for his comment. "I thought he was dating Bumblebee."

Raven frowned at him. She gave him a confused look. Her eyes a darker color in that confusion. He noticed that the happier she was feeling, the lighter her eyes became. When she had opened her eyes at him earlier, he had to stop himself from gasping. Her eyes had been a pale lavender that glowed softly in the sun. He had never seen such a color and he could not seem to shake the image of her standing there in the sun. He had been hesitant to disturb her. She almost had a glow about her that morning.

Robin snapped back from his wanderings at Raven's reply.

"He is. Quite happily if I am not mistaken. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, not knowing how to answer. "You just seem to be spending a lot of time together."

"We're friends." Before the conversation could finish the doors to the room opened. In floated Starfire.

"Friends, is it not a glorious morning?" Her arms were wide and her smile was infectious. Raven felt Robin's eyes slide to the alien girl. A small piece of her tugged sadly. She slowly stood up with her cup.

"Yes it is. I think I will take advantage and meditate on the roof this morning." Raven headed towards the stairs.

"Friend Raven, would you like company?"

Raven smiled at her friend. "That would be nice. Why don't you grab some breakfast first and meet me up there."

"Then perhaps we could venture to the park this afternoon."

Raven nodded. She looked back at her two friends. Star floated, smiling. She filled every room with light whenever she entered. Star made such an effort that Raven could rarely say no to the alien any more. She reminded herself that she needed to get out more. She had promised to try. "That would be great Star."

Raven walked again towards the roof…alone, leaving the two in the main room in the sunshine.

XXXXXXXXX

Ok, I know this has had nothing to do with the summery…yet. Next chapter will have the start of that…I promise.


	4. On the Roof

Enjoy...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven was still up much later that night. She was sitting on the couch with Cyborg. Raven sat reading quietly while Cy played practice levels on the new video game. He and the boys were now in competition and he was determined to maintain his high score. They were sitting in silence, well except for the sounds of the beeping video games. Raven found her mind wander from her book. It was an old classic but she found it difficult to concentrate on the words at the moment. With a frustrated sigh she placed her book to the side.

Cyborg glanced at her. "Hey Rae, not getting into the book?"

She crossed her arms. "Well I would if I stopped getting waves from you. What's wrong?"

He focused more intently on the screen. "Don't know what you're talking about Sunshine."

Since their discussion last night he had taken to calling her Sunshine or Angel. Raven just waited in silence with arms crossed. Finally he paused the game and turned to face her. Before he could ask the question she arched a brow. He huffed. "Yeah yeah, empath, I know." He gave her a hard look. "You know, having an empath for a friend can be thoroughly annoying at times."

Raven just gave a wry smile and continued to wait. "Lord Raven, you call me stubborn." The silence increased. Cyborg tried to turn back to his game but he could feel the unblinking gaze next to him. He tried to ignore it, but soon that was all he could focus on. Finally he shut down the game. "Fine, what do you want me to say?"

"Well I think it is only fair. You helped me yesterday with a problem and I have a chance to help you. What is bothering you?"

Cy leaned back against the couch. "It's nothing, really."

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be projecting emotions like you are. I was distracted the other day, but you have projecting since you got home. Is everything ok with Bumblebee?" Raven felt a spike of emotion and knew she had hit the nail on the head. She saw Cyborg getting ready to deny it but one look from her and he knew it was pointless.

"Really, we are fine. Things are going well for us."

"But…"

"You know that we are always so excited to see each other. We don't get to see each other much. It is like we are newly dating every time we see each other." He paused, not sure how to continue.

"So what is the problem?"

He gave her a smile. "I don't know. You would think that we were happy, but it's like we can't move forward. We are stuck in this place. I guess I am ready to see if we are a long term thing or not. Not easy when you can't spend enough time together to tell. I mean, we don't know if we would get on each others nerves or if we would have fights or problems. We just don't see each other for long enough periods of time."

Raven frowned at him. "So what's stopping you from taking that time?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well we can't seem to get more than a week before one of the Towers gets hit with tons of calls."

Raven rolled her eyes. "So? Take some time and integrate into their tower for awhile. You can fight with them."

"Yeah, but I am getting ready to revamp all the circuits and whatnot at the Tower now. It will take me months. I can't leave."

"So have her come here. Its not like we don't have the room."

Cyborg laughed. "Yeah, remember what happened the last time she came for a week? The whole ice cream debacle? They were cleaning the ceilings for weeks. She can't leave them without a leader. Those guys have no self control. They need to have someone to keep them in line."

He sat quietly his mind racing. It was then that he started to notice her silently staring. He gave a sigh. "What now Rae?"

"You boys are such idiots."

Cy opened his eyes and gave her a glare. "Excuse me?"

"How many people live here? How many live there? It is possible, just possible, that we could send someone from here to there for a few months while you two figure this out."

He gave her a blank look. Obviously not processing what she was saying. "Boys. Ok, they need a leader, you need to be here. Have Bumblebee come here and send one of us to the other tower. Now you get the time you need and they have a babysitter. Problem solved."

"Yeah, but I can't ask someone to switch towers. It would mess with the team."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Cy, it wouldn't be permanent. Give it a few weeks and then you two can figure out what to do after that. We are your friends. We would be happy to do it for you."

Cyborg sat again, now thoughtful. Raven stood up and stretched. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just a thought. You can make it work, if you want to."

Raven headed on to bed, leaving the man alone in his thoughts.

XXXXXXXX

Days passed and Cyborg finally came to a decision. He found Raven as soon as he awoke one morning. She was sitting out on the roof, an empty mug next to her levitating form. She was still and calm and looked ridiculously cute in her Grumpy pajamas. They had been a gift from Beast Boy last Christmas. He had seen the grouchy care bear pjs and could not resist. The bottoms were a soft purple flannel and the tank top sported a frowning bear with his arms crossed and a small rain cloud above his head. Raven had not shown much emotion when opening her gift, but that didn't mean she didn't adore them. She wore them almost all the time. Every time it would bring a smile to BB's face.

A gentle wind rose up and whipped her hair about her face. Cy was struck by the young girl in front of him. She was not a classical beauty, but something about her was striking. He knew that she didn't see it and he was determined that one day she would. Even if he had to beat a certain bird over the head so that he saw it too. It was quickly becoming Cyborg's mission. Ever since Raven's admission, he had begun to plot. He was careful to control emotions and ideas around Rae. She didn't need to know.

He watched her for another few moments until her voice broke the silence. "Either sit down or go away. You are ruining my concentration, Cy." He chuckled and walked towards the edge of the roof. He sat, his feet dangling over the edge. Raven's feet touched the ground and she joined him. She pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her chin on them. She was watching the water and sun. He was struck by the pose. It was so unRavenlike. It just went to show him how many of her walls had really started to crumble since the defeat of her father. Never before would anyone have caught her in a position that made her look in any way vulnerable or weak. He looked at her apparel as well. She was starting to wear more and more 'casual' clothes rather than just her uniform. He smiled at the thought.

She turned her head to him. "So, what can I do for you this morning?"

"What makes you think I want something?" He gave her a smile which she returned.

"Because you do not get up to watch the sunrise. You even beat Robin this morning. So I repeat, what do you want?"

"Have I mentioned that an empath as a friend can be really annoying?" He laughed a bit as he spoke.

"It has been mentioned, now spill. I want to finish my meditation before Beast Boy makes his appearance today."

"Ok, short version, I talked to Bee. I told her about your idea and she likes it. She wants to try it, but there is a catch."

Raven raised a brow waiting for him to continue. "Well, she will only do it if you are the titan that fills in for her."

"Me? Why me?"

Cy shrugged. "Well, they need a leader. I mean we can't send Rob. BB…" Raven snorted but Cy continued, "well, yeah, BB would not really help keep them in control. We could send Star, but I don't think she has the commanding presence these guys will need. She would sit back and roll with the punches and probably join in a bit. You are the only one that she thinks can keep control. I have to say I agree."

The two remained silent for awhile. The sun was almost fully out now. Finally Raven spoke. Her voice was quiet and calm. "Ok, I'll do it. Who knows, maybe it will be really good for me." Inside she added to that. _Maybe the time away from Robin will do me good. Maybe I will get over this little crush._

Cy looked over, a huge smile on his face. "Thanks Rae, I knew I could count on you."

The two did not seem to notice the figure standing at the doorway on the roof. Robin stared at the two friends sitting so closely together. He could not hear them, but he watched as Cyborg stood up and scooped Raven into a hug, twirling her around in circles and laughing. Robin could not believe his ears. He heard a small chuckle escape from Raven as well. He felt his heart twist. _Just what the hell was going on? And what was Cyborg doing invading his Raven time?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Ok, not the longest chapter, but it just seemed the place to stop for the time being. Hope you enjoy. Thank you to the reviewers. The reviews make my day and make me smile. Cookies to you all.


	5. Off to the East

Cyborg left Raven on the roof to continue her meditation. He was feeling on cloud nine. He had known that she would agree, but it was still a weight off his mind. Now he knew he could talk to the team about the plan. He only hoped that they would all be as cooperative.

As he entered the main room, he saw Robin banging around in the kitchen. Pots and pans were making quite a racket. "Hey Rob, what are you doing?"

Robin looked up with a scowl. Cyborg could not see his eyes, but knew that the young man was surely giving him a death glare. The tension in the room rose. Robin's voice was short. "I'm making breakfast." He turned to grab a pan which he slammed onto the stove. He walked over to the fridge and yanked open the door.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Cyborg could feel the waves coming off the hero in front of him. He flinched, knowing that if he could feel them, Raven would be able to feel them as well. If she was unable to meditate then they would have two irritable birds in the tower today and he could not have that. Robin continued his curt replies.

"I'm fine." He slammed the door on the fridge. He turned on Cyborg. "Just what are you playing at?"

Cyborg was thoroughly confused now. "Excuse me?"

"I thought you were dating Bumblebee."

"I am." Cyborg kept his voice calm and low, trying to figure out what was bothering his leader.

"So then what exactly are you doing with Raven up on the roof?"

Cyborg gave Robin a look. "How do you know about the roof?"

"I went up to say good morning to Raven and saw you." Even through the mask, Cyborg could feel the hard look. "I don't like to see my friends played with. Raven …"

But Robin never finished the sentence. Cyborg interrupted. "Is my friend. I was asking a favor and she agreed."

"You had to ask her this early in the morning?"

Cyborg narrowed his eyes. "I wanted to talk to her before things got busy. Now what's really bugging you?"

"You were really just asking a favor?"

"Yeah man, what else would I be doin' up this early?" He watched as Robin slowly relaxed. A slight blush crept up on Robin's cheeks. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry. I just went up there and saw you two snuggling up and I thought you…" He shrugged. "Sorry."

"Sorry, no snuggling. I like Rae, but not like that. She is a very good friend."

Robin nodded. "Sorry I jumped on you. I guess I didn't sleep well and I usually just sit with Raven in the mornings. I'm not used to this many people up right now. It threw me off my schedule." Why did he feel the need to explain his behavior?

There was still tension and confusion in the air, but not like before. Robin went about his cooking while Cyborg decided what he wanted to eat. They were calming down when Raven came in. She looked at the two of them.

"Glad to see you two are relaxing." Both boys looked up with guilty looks. "Don't worry about it. I was able to concentrate just fine, though it was touch and go for a bit there. Everything ok?"

The two exchanged looks. "Everything's fine. Want any breakfast?" Robin felt himself relax more and more as her calming nature infused the room. He had been irritated to find someone else up at this hour. This was his time to relax. He also did not get a chance to spend a lot of time with his friend, and he had been irritated that his time had been taken away.

Cyborg looked up and tossed an apple to Raven and turned to put on water for another cup of tea. He leaned over Robin and grabbed some bread to make toast. "Thanks Cy."

Robin watched this with some confusion. How did Cy know what she wanted for breakfast? She stretched. "I'm going to change. I'll be back in a few minutes."

As she left, Robin turned to Cyborg. "How did you know what to make her?" He was very surprised that someone had known what she would eat for breakfast. He knew they spent time together, but it never dawned on him that Cy would know what she ate.

Cy just gave him a look. "It's the same breakfast she eats most days. The only time she eats anything heavy is when we have had a big fight the day before."

"But how do you know?"

"She and I hang out." Cyborg continued to prepare his breakfast and they heard the doors open. In stumbled Star. The morning had begun, but somewhere in the back of his mind Robin was lost in thought. _Why didn't I know though? How is it Cyborg knows and I don't?_

XXXXXXXXX

Raven kept waiting for Cyborg to say something. She knew that he would have to say something soon. It was going to take a few days for it to sink in and they had decided that the end of the week was as good as any time if they were going to do this.

The big announcement came at dinner. Cyborg had decided that they all needed to go out to pizza. They were half way through when Cy decided to make his big announcement. He cleared his throat. "So, umm, I wanted to talk to you all. I have already talked to Raven about this and she has agreed. You know I have been seeing Bumblebee for some time now, and we have talked. We want a chance to spend some real time together. That's a little difficult to do considering we are at opposite towers. Raven came up with the idea that we could maybe do some switching for a few months. I hope that you will all like the idea." He paused and Beast Boy broke in.

"Just get to the point Dude. You're killin' us with the suspense." Raven glared at him.

"You know, it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

"Huh?"

Raven shook her head. "Never mind. Keep going Cy."

"Thanks. Anyway, the idea is to pull a switch. Send one of the titans west to titans east. This would let Bumblebee come to our tower for awhile so we can figure some things out. I asked Raven, and she said she was willing to go. So, what do you think?"

The group was silent. He was not sure how they would take it, but this was unexpected. Finally Beast Boy looked up, his face confused. "So, Raven would move to Titans East..."

Raven felt the underlying emotions. Some she understood and a few others she did not. She spoke up. "Not long. Just for a few months. I would be back about Christmas time. After that, Bumblebee and Cy would decide where to go from there. Sorry, I'm not giving up my room and I expect that you continue to stay out of it."

Finally Robin spoke. She felt that he was thrown off. She didn't fully understand the feelings he was giving off. "Is it something you want to do?" His voice was soft and he was not really looking at her.

"Like I said, it is not permanent."

"But do you want to go?"

"I would not agree if I did not wish to go. He has helped me a lot in the last few months. It is something I can do in return."

Robin nodded. The group waited upon his decision. As the leader, he got to approve it first and foremost and Cy and Raven both had agreed that if he felt it detrimental to the team, they would not pursue it. He looked down at his hands, took a breath and looked up. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"The end of the week. That will give us time to pack and to get a room ready for Bumblebee."

Those few words sent everyone talking. Beast Boy was talking about what he would do first when Bumblebee got there and how things would be different. Starfire was talking with Raven about a farewell/welcoming party. No one seemed to notice that Robin did not join in. He sat quietly, watching his team. It was then that it hit him that things were changing, and he wasn't sure he liked the change.

XXXXXXXXX

The week sped by. Thursday night came and went. The party had been very nice. The friends had all sat around, watching movies and telling jokes. Raven sat quietly, absorbing it all. She sipped on a drink made by Star that really wasn't that bad. Not by Star's typical standards of course. She was going to miss them all, she knew that, but she was looking forward to the change. She had not lied to Cyborg. The change might be good for her. It would help her put her mind back together. Maybe when she came back she would not have these feelings. Maybe a break is just what her system needed.

Robin sat with Starfire, talking quietly on the couch. Beast Boy was currently trying to beat Cyborg at their latest video game. Raven watched them all and felt the familiar warmth. This was her family and she wouldn't trade them for anything. She gave a small smile and pulled a little surprise from behind her back. Her power held the stank ball as she snuck up on Beast Boy.

"Hey Beast Boy. Just a little something to remember me by." She threw with all her might and smacked him straight in the face with the smelly ball of socks. It took the team a moment to realize that Raven was starting the game and that she was teasing them. After a full minute they all jumped into action. Raven gave them a wink as they all tumbled off the couch, ready to start the game. Raven phased out of the room and the game was on.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning was a quiet one. They had all stayed up later than they should have. Cy and Raven had the T-car packed and ready to go. It was a subdued group that gathered to say goodbye. Beast Boy was half asleep, so he barely registered the fact that Raven gave him a small one armed hug. Starfire grabbed Raven and squeezed. "Oh I shall miss you my friend. I await your return already."

"Same to you Star." She patted the girl's back and turned to the final team member. Robin stood off to the side, his expression quiet and thoughtful. She thought about hugging him, but she didn't trust her emotions. She opted for a small handshake. Robin looked down at their hands with a small frown.

"See you at Christmas Wonder Boy."

He continued to stare at their hands. "Yeah, Christmas." He looked up. She pulled a little at her hand. He was not letting go. She could feel heat infuse her face as emotions began to build up. She needed to get his to let go. She sent a light shock of power into his hand. He pulled his hand away, startled. Raven walked to the car and jumped in. Robin looked at them. "You two drive safe. See you later Cy."

The car pulled out. Raven looked back once and watched the tower growing smaller in the distance. She felt a pang in her chest as she watched her home disappearing. With a sigh, she turned around to look at the road before them.

XXXXXXXXXX

They arrived late that night. The East Tower was glowing as if waiting for them. Raven and Cyborg had enjoyed silence for the first part of their trip. Soon the two were fully wake and small talk ensued. It had ended with their usual questions game. Each was trying to outdo the other.

"Your last circuit you would want to break would be…?"

"If you hate pink, why do you wear those fairy pajamas?"

"Worst kiss you ever had?"

"Last time you wet the bed?"

"Worst pick up line you ever used on a girl?"

"When are you going to tell Robin you love him?"

Raven gave her friend a glare. "I thought we were over this."

Cyborg shrugged. "Maybe you were, but not me. You should have seen him the last few days. I think Robin likes you."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You just don't stop do you?"

"Nope." He grinned at her. "Not when it comes to the happiness of my friends."

Raven placed a hand on his arm. "Cy, I am happy. I told you, I don't need someone to love me to be happy. I have my friends. That is plenty for me."

"But you could have so much more Rae. I know you two could be great together."

"So could he and Star."

He gripped the steering wheel a bit harder. She could be so stubborn, and that tone of voice. It was so calm and so damn understanding. She was so logical that you could see her side of the argument even if you didn't want to. It hurt because a part of him understood her hesitance to try. She didn't really think she was worthy of that love. She figured she was still atoning for all the hurt she might have caused all those months ago. She was still trying to control a dark side.

"You are worth it you know?"

"Worth what?"

"Love."

The two lapsed into silence again. Her hand came up to briefly squeeze his before dropping. "Thank you." The two sat in silence again, both lost in thought.

XXXXXXXXX

Now they finally stood before their destination. Cyborg had grabbed some of her bags while the others where held up behind her by her own dark force. They walked right in and were greeted at the door by five smiling faces. High fives, back slaps, and calls of greeting were exchanged.

Cy stood next to Bumblebee, his arm slung across her shoulders. The woman smiled at Raven. "Hey, girl. Thank you so much for doin' this. It means a lot."

"No problem. Besides, I owed Cy."

"Oh, what did Sparky do?"

"He took Beast Boy to the mall and the zoo. Wore him out so badly that Beast Boy slept for two days. The most restful that tower has been in ages."

The group chuckled and Raven gave a small smile. After a few more minutes of talk, Raven was led to her room. It was large with a high bed. The walls were brighter and more inviting than she was used to, but they showed her that with a simple flick, the curtains would close, leaving almost light in. Speedy stood with his arms crossed. "We tend to sleep in, so we like the curtains to block out everything."

When she opened the curtains, she actually gasped in surprise. Before her lay the water, speckled with the lights from the city. She could just tell she was going to love the view. There was no land she could see below the window, just a huge expanse of water. Cyborg came up behind her. "I think you could get used to this." She smiled.

"I think you're right."

"Just don't get too used to it. We will still want you back home. Can't keep my baby workin' without you."

The Titans East excused themselves to let Raven unpack. Cyborg stayed to help, despite her protests. "You really don't need to help. Go see Bumblebee."

"She'll wait. We have months ahead of us. I won't get to see you for months, so I am helping you."

"Really it's ok." She reached, trying to stop him from opening one of her suitcases.

"What's the big deal? Don't want me to see your unmentionables?"

"Something like that." She muttered as he looked in the suitcase. Staring back at him was something he had never expected. Shoved inside the bag was a giant stuffed chicken. Cyborg stared at it for a minute before watching Raven grab it. She placed the chicken on her bed. He saw a blush form on her cheeks.

"I thought you lost that when we went after Star."

She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "I went back for it."

"We thought you hated it."

"It was the first gift I ever received. You guys won it for me. It kind of grew on me."

"But why haven't we ever seen it in your room."

Raven smiled. "Because you are never allowed in my room." Cyborg gave her a grin, but he continued to wait her out. She sighed in defeat. "Because I thought you would laugh at first. It was so girly to have a stuffed animal, I was sure you would laugh that I had gone back for it. After awhile, it was just second nature to keep him under the bed. When I am having a bad night, I could always pull him out and I knew I had friends."

Cyborg hugged her, hard. "Always Rae, you will always have us."

After that, she shooed him out of her room, wanting to unpack in peace. However, for the first time, her giant chicken remained on the bed, smiling down.

XXXXXX

The next morning came just as quickly as the previous morning. Only this time, she had to say goodbye to Cyborg. Everything was packed, Bumblebee was in the car, and all other farewells were done. Before he could move, Raven launched into his arms holding him tight. A tear rolled down her face. "I'll miss you."

"Me too, Dark Girl. You call me whenever you want."

He felt her nod into his shoulder. Another squeeze and he was soon in the car. As he pulled away, Cyborg looked back. Bumblebee looked over to see a small tear slipped down his face. "You ok, Sparky."

"Yeah, just gonna miss her. We got really close."

"She'll be fine and before you know it, you'll see her again.

The car headed back across the country.

XXXXXXXXXXX

There you go. Hope you like it. Thank you to the reviewers. I love you all.


	6. A Morning Without Raven

Her first day with the Titans East consisted of a quick tour of her new home. Everyone was very well behaved and eager to show their new 'leader' around. Aqualad took her through the basic rooms and showed her the garage where Tram was working busily on a new something or other. Speedy took her through the training areas, inside and out. Mas and Menos took her through the bedrooms and the kitchen. All were eager and talkative. Raven listened with half an ear and nodded when appropriate but did not speak much.

They didn't seem to settle down until dinner time. By then, Raven was exhausted. It had been a very busy day, one in which she did not get her morning tea or her morning meditation session. The boys were now realizing just how little she had said. Maybe her silence was what started to calm them down.

It was not the first time they had met Raven. The two towers got together a few times a year in order to maintain bonds. They would see each other throughout the rest of the year occasionally as missions took them here and there. But they had not simply sat with Raven. There was always someone else to talk to, someone more talkative. They had seen her fight and knew she was a formidable opponent and yet no one could remember a conversation with the silent woman before them.

In fact, no one could really remember asking much about Raven. She was rarely out at the tower, choosing to spend the time in her room or on the roof when at all possible. Now they all sat around the main room, wondering what to do about the silent creature in front of them. They were used to titans that offered up conversation and were just as talkative. This one just seemed content to sit back and watch them and listen to them.

Speedy was the first to speak. "So Raven, tell us about yourself." He had decided that the blunt approach would work with Raven. In fact, she would probably appreciate not beating around the bush.

Raven raised a brow. Her voice was quiet and calming. It had the others leaning in to hear her words. It was a very pleasant voice really. It was soothing, in a dark sultry kind of way. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, I know we have all seen you fight, but what are your powers." At her look he smiled a charming smile. "Well if we are going to work together, shouldn't we know?"

They all waited for the girl to speak, but Raven merely smirked. Her hand raised and all of a sudden Speedy found himself thrown up into the air, held by a dark energy hand. He gave a short shout of surprise while his other teammates began to chuckle. Raven allowed Speedy to drop to the couch softly before she phased through the floor. They all glanced around the room, trying to figure out where the girl had gone. She phased back through the floor, right behind the twins. "Boo!" She whispered in their ears. The twins jumped up, grabbing each other and zipping right up the wall and down again. Aqualad laughed even harder now. Speedy had righted himself and looked up, impressed.

"Anything else?"

Raven sat down with a small smile. She crossed her legs and began to levitate. "I'm an empath."

Speedy frowned. "So you can read out minds?" He actually looked a bit nervous.

Aqualad rolled his eyes. "She said empath not psychic you moron."

"Careful who you call a moron fish breath."

She could see where this was going so she held up her hand, shaking her head. That quiet gesture quieted the argument gearing up to start. "Not exactly. I can feel emotions."

"Is that it, or is there more?" By now, Speedy was feeling a bit overwhelmed. He had only ever seen the telekinetic powers and was surprised to hear of her other abilities.

"That about covers it. Now how about you? I think I have the general idea about what you all can do, but you might as well tell me details." They all settled down on the couch. Aqualad sat next to Raven and mentally applauded. He had noticed that Raven had quickly changed the flow of conversation away from herself and directed it back to the boys. Again the empath sat listening to everything being said and saying very little herself. Speedy was now bragging about some conquest or another and the twins were busy mocking him behind his back. Aqualad settled down on the couch deciding that if he wanted to know more about their quiet friend he would have to take a page out of her book. He sat back and began to watch and study. The new friends began to share little pieces of themselves and slowly a new team was born

.XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning at Titans West was not going smoothly. Robin had woken earlier than usual. For some reason he had not slept well last night. It could have had something to do with Cyborg getting back of course. Everyone had been excited to see Bumblebee and to ask about how Raven had settled in.

Beast Boy had been in rare form. Bumblebee was one of the few that took pity on him and would occasionally give in and laugh at one of his jokes. This of course only encouraged him. Robin shook his head, thinking about Raven. He had once started the conversation about her attitude with Beast Boy. They had been enjoying the sunrise one morning. They had been talking about Raven's apparent dislike of Beast Boy and his constant attempts to make her laugh.

"_You know he might back off a little if you just laughed one time. I bet he would be over the moon if you just smiled at him."_

"_Not going to happen Wonder Boy." He could still remember scowling at her over the little nickname. _

"_It wouldn't hurt you." She had given him that classic Raven look. The look that told you you were a moron._

"_Wanna bet?"_

"_Come on Rae, what's the worst that can happen." She had sighed and set down her cup. _

"_Do you want to know why I refuse to laugh at his childish little jokes?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Because it would get him off my back for awhile and then he would redouble his efforts. It would give him hope that I would laugh again and then I would have to deal with even more attempts. It would irritate me to no end. That little attempt at relief would just increase the problem." She had gone back to looking at her section of her paper._

"_Hmm, hadn't thought about it that way." He had picked up his paper just as she spoke again._

"_I know."_

Robin mentally shook himself. He hadn't thought about that conversation for a long time. In fact, he realized that he had not thought about Raven much lately. Now that he knew she was not in the tower his mind kept wandering to little conversations they had had. He pulled his mind from memory lane. He greeted Bumblebee warmly. He spent the rest of the day with the team showing their new teammate every part of the tower and relaxing as a team.

Their little 'party' had gone on much too long. Robin had retired with a slight headache but he had not been able to rest. His friends had been up much later and they were not exactly quiet when they were this excited. He was still trying to get the Monkey Force Four theme song out of his head.

You would think after little sleep he would want to sleep in right? Oh no, his brain said it was time to get up, he got up. He wasn't functioning but he was up. He walked into the main room to find he was the first one up. Ah at last, peace and quiet. He began his morning routine of making coffee. Without thinking, he reached over and set the tea pot on the stove to boil. He was pouring his coffee as the pot whistled. Without thinking he reached up for Raven's favorite tea mug.

His hand reached up and felt nothing but empty space. Finally his brain kicked on. She was gone. She wasn't here and she had taken her cup with her. He looked up at the cupboards and found that most of her tea had gone with her. All of a sudden, that relaxed feeling left. He was now irritable again. After a long night, he had been looking forward to just sitting with someone. He looked up as the door opened.

In walked Bumblebee. "Hey Rob. Didn't know you were an early riser."

"Ah, hi Bumblebee."

He turned, ready to start breakfast. He may have been an early riser, but he did not talk much in the mornings. He and Raven usually sat and read the paper with occasional conversations until just before the others awoke. Apparently Bumblebee was not like Raven. She was asking questions and talking about what a great time she had last night. It wasn't mindless prattle, it was true conversation, but Robin could feel annoyance set in.

The doors opened again and in walked Cyborg. He sighed, so much for a quiet, relaxing morning. Robin looked up and wondered what Raven was doing.

XXXXXXXXX

Raven awoke in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar bed. She sat up and stretched, finding the bed surprisingly comfortable. She had slept really well last night. Despite new noises and surroundings, she had managed to sleep all the way through the night.

Feeling refreshed, she sat up and walked to the curtains. She yanked them open and gasped. The water was sparking and smooth as the sun began to make its appearance over the water. She could see steam rising from the water causing it to look like something out of a movie or a postcard. Raven felt herself smile. It was a perfect morning. Oh yes, she could get used to this view. All she needed now was her tea and she would be content forever.

Raven stood watching the scene for a few more minutes, soaking in the peace before she decided it was time to face the day. Normally she would have just left her room in her pajamas, but she was still unsure about reactions from her new teammates so Raven opted for her uniform. She stared at herself in the mirror and frowned. Maybe it was time for some new clothes. She didn't mind wearing her uniform, but all the time got to be a hassle. She wasn't really comfortable wearing something as 'girly' as her pajamas around the other titans yet, but maybe something else. Maybe a trip to the store was in order.

For the time being Raven pulled her hood up and headed out to the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to find herself alone. She was very used to being the first one up. Silently she went about her morning routine. She prepared her cup of tea and was just sitting down to enjoy it when she sensed someone behind her.

"Morning Aqualad."

She heard a soft chuckle. "Already know who is who huh?"

She looked up at him over the rim of her tea cup. "Not too difficult." Raven lapsed into silence again. Aqualad walked to the kitchen pulling out a carton of orange juice and pouring a glass. He came and sat down.

"Not much of a talker in the morning I take it."

"Not particularly."

He laughed softly again. "Well that will be a welcome change. Bumblebee is always the first up but she likes to talk. She wakes up ready to go to work and she wants to know what you think of certain ideas." Aqualad leaned back against the couch no longer feeling the need to talk. Most would want to fill the silence but he had no desire to break the solitude. The two sat together on the couch just enjoying a peaceful morning. Raven was the first to break the mood.

"Well, it seems the day has begun." Just then the door opened an in zoomed a blur of light. The twins stopped abruptly in front of Raven.

"Buena mañana Raven" Then they turned to Aqualad. "Buena mañana Aqualad." They turned back to Raven. "¿Cuál está para el desayuno?"

Raven looked at the two. "What?"

Aqualad shrugged. "They want to know what's for breakfast. Bumblebee sometimes cooks for everyone. Don't worry, soon you'll be speaking it too. You can't help but pick it up."

Raven shook her head at the two. "Sorry, I usually don't cook." They shrugged and zoomed off to the kitchen.

Raven looked down at her tea. The cup was now empty. Aqualad reached over and took it. "Would you like another cup?"

Raven looked into his dark eyes and smiled. She couldn't help it. He was a soft spoken person who seemed eager to help anyone he could. And he was good looking on top of that. She could really get used to this place. Raven shook her head.

"No thank you. I really should get some meditation in today."

"Meditation?" He looked interested.

"It helps me control my powers." Raven stood and headed towards the door. She knew she was working on being with people more and more, but the inviting view from her room would be perfect for mediation. She would work on her social skills after that.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Robin watched as the once peaceful main room quickly filled up. The noise slowly increased as Cyborg and Beast Boy started yet another food argument. Bumblebee and Starfire were talking excitedly in the corner. He was the only one that seemed to want quiet that morning. He was contemplating heading off to his room when Cyborg pulled him to the side.

"Anything wrong man?"

Robin was touched by his friends concern. "I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well."

Cyborg was quiet for a moment. He was still intent on Robin figuring out what he really had. He decided a small push was in order. "You know, you could call her."

Robin stopped short. "What?"

"You could call her."

"Who?"

"Raven. I know you guys always spent mornings together. You could call and see how her morning is going." Cy watched as Robin contemplated the idea. Cyborg had watched his friend all morning. One of the bonuses of befriending Raven was that he was becoming much more observant. He could tell that the leader of Titans West was grumpy about something and then he had remembered Robin's reaction when he had thought Cy had taken away his morning routine with Raven. It was possible that he was grumpy now for the same reason. He pushed just a little more.

"You know, it's ok to miss her Rob. She's our friend. I know she will miss us too." That seemed to make up Robin's mind. He nodded once.

"Ok, maybe I will give her a call." As he headed out the door he turned and looked back. "Thanks, Cy."

"Anytime."

XXXXXXXX

When he made it to his room, Robin pulled out his communicator. He sat on his bed and smiled. "Robin calling Raven."

It took a moment or two, but soon the static cleared and Robin was rewarded with Raven's face. He smiled even more. There was a small frown on her face. "Robin? Is everything alright?"

He shook his head. "No, just checking on you. How is everything there?"

"Oh fine. Just finished my morning meditation." Robin could see the Titans East main room in the background. He heard a loud crash and watched as Raven winced. She turned her head. "Mas, Menos, What's going on?"

Muffled in the background he could hear the twins. "No lo hicimos." Raven pinched the bridge of her nose and turned back to the communicator. Robin heard Aqualad's voice.

"I got it Rae."

"Well, what can I say; it's a little loud right now."

Robin chuckled. "Tell me about it." He was ready to launch into some of the details when another face came on the communicator. Speedy had finally entered the scene. He leaned over Raven, throwing his arms over her shoulders.

"Morning Princess. How did you sleep? Hey, is that Rob? Hi Rob!" The redheads smiling face now took up most of the screen as he leaned even more over Raven. Now Robin could not see her face. Just then the background around the two flashed. Raven shoved Speedy out of the way.

"Sorry, Rob. Gotta go." The transmission was ended.

Robin stared down at the communicator now silent. His brain was trying to process what he had just seen. He repeated the words to himself. "Morning Princess?"

XXXXXXXX

Ok, there is chapter six. Thank you to all those who have reviewed. You are awesome. I have to head out of town for a day or two so I will not be updating as quickly, but I will update again soon. Hope you like the chapter.


	7. Raven's Morning

Ok, so I went away for a weekend and I had all these ideas for all my stories and I get home and my computer died. It will not turn on! ARGH! So I have spent all week working on fixing it. Sorry I have not updated in awhile. It is finally fixed (cross your fingers). So, I have a few chapters written now, but I am posting them over a few days. I need to double check spelling and formatting. (The computer I was working on…well it wasn't the most up to date and when I tried to post, I was getting some really funky looking pages and I wasn't sure it would post correctly.) But the kicker is, I will be out of town now for a week. So many, apologies. I swear, I have no control over this. Ok, enough from me. On with the show.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven had returned from meditation to general chaos. The twins were attempting to cook and from the puffs of smoke emanating from the kitchen, she imagined it wasn't going well. Aqualad was trying to help them out, but every time he walked over, the twins would zip off to do something else. It was causing a huge mess and a fire hazard. While the twins ran from Aqualad, Raven proceeded to send the now blackened meal to the sink where it could not cause any major damage. From the other room she heard Aqualad and the twins.

"Come on you guys, Bumblebee said to be on our best behavior."

"Éste es nuestro mejor comportamiento."

"It is not your best behavior, now get back here."

Raven decided a calming cup of tea would be needed. They had all been on their best behavior the other day, but she knew that creating a new team would be difficult. They all had to learn how everyone fit in. The boys knew each other, but did not know Raven and it would take some practice and time before they were all comfortable working together.

Raven sighed, the kitchen was a disaster. Luckily Cyborg had designed most of this himself, so the layout was very similar to the one at Titans West. After successfully making her tea Raven headed to the upper deck as she was calling it. Most of the lower level of the main room was water access for Aqualad. Towards the back lay the kitchen as well as a large couch and TV. There was a large table used for both meetings and for meals when everyone was together. Other than that, the lower portion was very open.

If you looked up, you would see a large second level that stuck out from the wall. This was the upper deck. It looked much like an overly large diving platform. It too housed a comfortable couch and a huge TV screen. There was also a lot of open space. For Raven it was the view that turned the place into a spectacular area. She found an overstuffed chair that she could curl up in with her tea. She winced as she heard a crash. This was quickly followed by the twins shouting.

"Apesadumbrado." And Aqualad,

"I'll make them clean that up in a minute, I just need to catch them." The chase resumed and Raven sighed.

"They are worse than Beast Boy." But as she said it, she had a smile in her voice. She almost missed the little green terror. Raven resumed her tea.

As she sat, she felt herself relax again. She stared out the windows and felt calm envelop her. The tower was built right into the mountain side. Because of that, there were a number of rooms that had no windows and others that had huge windows. The base of the tower housed the main room so that Aqualad had water access. The windows went all the way to the ground and all Raven could see was water and sky. She watched the water lap right up to the base of the tower. It was almost as if they were on a desert island. Raven could reach out the window and touch the cool water. The sun was now up, and the rays sent sparkles of light dancing over waves. A bird preformed acrobatics in the air, and Raven gave a small smile.

She was shaken from her happy state by the ringing of her communicator. She grabbed and flipped it open. Robin's face smiled up at her. Her first reaction was that something was wrong. She felt herself tense and she prepared to transport herself all the way home.

"Robin? Is everything alright?"

He shook his head. Her body relaxed. It was then that she noticed the small smile on his face. "No, just checking on you. How is everything there?" She smiled at him, realizing just how much she was missing home. Yes, she still had her quiet morning, but it had not been the same. She and Robin may not talk a ton during their quiet mornings, but it was how they always started their days.

"Oh fine. Just finished my morning meditation."

Raven felt herself relax slightly when Robin told her that he was just calling to check on her and yet part of her was still tense. Why was he calling? Robin had never felt the need to check up on her. Even when sent on individual missions, Robin never called. She knew that her confusion must be showing, but Robin went on with the conversation.

She had just answered him when she heard another crash. Raven sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. The twins called out "No lo hicimos." She felt a headache coming on. She took everything back, they were worse than Beast Boy. Enough was enough. She called out.

"Mas, Menos, What's going on?" There was a hint of warning in her tone. It was a warning that Beast Boy would have heeded, but these titans did not yet know that tone of voice. She was prepared to get up and deal with them when she heard Aqualad. He was trying so hard to make this as easy a transition as possible, but nothing was going right.

"I got it Rae." She shook her head, giving Robin a look. It was something she knew he would understand. They often exchanged these looks when the others at Titans West got a little loud and obnoxious.

"Well, what can I say; it's a little loud right now." She watched as Robin chuckled. She had known he would understand.

"Tell me about it." He said. She settled back, knowing a story was involved. She gave a small smile. This was also something she missed already. She and Robin always had little stories to share about their teammates or cases. Very rarely were the stories about themselves, but she enjoyed them nonetheless.

Raven turned when she heard the doors open behind her. She knew who it was. She was already distinguishing one presence from another. She was going to turn and say good morning, when she felt his arm drape around her shoulders. Raven stiffened, shocked that someone she did not know well would touch her in so intimate a way. And then he spoke.

"Morning Princess. How did you sleep? Hey, is that Rob? Hi Rob!" Pure shock was the only thing keeping the cocky redhead from being flung across the wall. She could no longer see Robin's face because Speedy was now blocking her view. Her mind was not paying attention to the conversation however. Her mind was repeating a word over and over. _Princess? PRINCESS? Why the hell had he called her Princess? No one ever associated her with anything remotely girly and here this BOY comes and calls her Princess? _

Raven felt her shock wear off and she was ready to explain, quite nicely, that he was not to refer to her as Princess. Before words and actions began, the emergency lights went off. She knew that system well. Speedy pulled back and Raven looked into Robin's face. "Sorry Rob, gotta go." She shut the communicator and ran off to join the others.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The new team entered a local bank in the process of being robbed. No one had told them just who was doing the robbing, but when Raven saw who it was, she almost laughed. "You have got to be kidding. Hasn't he learned yet?"

There, standing amid the bank bags stood none other than Dr. Light. The team stopped. Speedy looked at Raven, "Hey, isn't that the guy we scared just after the whole Brotherhood of Evil thing?"

"The one and the same. The Notorious Dr. Light."

It was at this time that the criminal seemed to realize that someone else was there. He looked up and stepped back. "There aren't supposed to be Titans here! How did you get here?"

Speedy stepped up. Raven melted into the background, careful that Dr. Light would not see her. "We're the Titans East. And you're on our turf now. I would suggest making this easy on yourself and surrendering now."

After a moment or two, Dr. Light smiled. "I don't think so. No one defeats Dr. Light." With that, the villain leapt back with a surge of light. The titans covered their eyes for a moment. Before they attacked, Raven whispered to Aqualad.

"I want to see what you guys can do. Hit him with all you've got." The dark haired Antlantian nodded and he led the others to the fight. Raven watched as Speedy tried his arrows. Dr. Light threw up a shield and hit Speedy with some light bolts of his own. Speedy went flying across the room. Mas and Menos began circling Dr. Light. He was aiming it them but could not seem to hit them. The twins laughed at the criminal's growing frustration.

"Stand still and fight like men!" The twins responding by moving faster, creating a small whirlwind that began to lift Dr. Light off the ground. All of a sudden, his light shield exploded, pushing the two boys back, stunned. Next came Aqualad. He sent wave after wave after Dr. Light, encasing the man in a wall of water. Aqualad's eyes opened wide as Dr. Light's chest plate erupted and the wall of water sizzled away. The young man was thrown against the same wall Speedy had been tossed at. The team was ready to shake it off and try again. They lined up, ready to fight. The man laughed at them.

"I told you before, no one defeats the light." Just then, the boys saw a shadow form behind the man. It grew larger and larger, towering over Dr. Light. Soon the shadow took shape and there stood Raven. Her eyes were dark with power and her cloak billowed out. She looked like a demon from the seventh level of hell. Tentacles of black magic whipped about her body. Her voice was low and gravely.

"Not even the dark?"

Dr. Light swung around at the sound of her voice and his face paled. "You….but how are you….You should not be here. I left, you should not be here."

A single tentacle reached out, slowly closing in on the trembling man. "So, will you come nicely, or do you need…assistance?"

The terrified Dr. Light turned and reached out his hands to the Titans East. "You can cuff me now." The boys were all staring, wide eyes as Raven shrank down to size. Her eyes resumed their normal purple hue and the black tendrils pulled themselves in. She waited for the new team to say something. They all seemed to be in a slight trance. She raised an eye. "Yes?"

The twins were the first to speak. "¿Cómo usted hizo eso?"

Aqualad was next. "Yes, how did you do that?"

Speedy was staring at her with a slack jaw. She shrugged at them. "Long story." She looked at them all staring at her and she found herself a bit tired. She knew she would have to explain and they would have many questions which she was not yet ready to answer. She decided to put off this conversation. "You guys have this?" They gave her a mute nod. "Great. I need to go out. I'll be back to the tower later." She reached over and popped Speedy's mouth shut. Her eyes went hard. "Oh, and Speedy. Call me Princess again and you will regret it."

That seemed to snap him out of it. He grinned. "Didn't like Princess huh? What about Buttercup?"

Raven rolled her eyes and walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, hope you enjoyed. I should have the next chapter up tomorrow night. Let me know what you think. I am sorry I have not gotten back to all the reviewers. It has been a really long week. I will try to get back to everyone this week. Thanks to all the reviewers. You guys rock!


	8. Making Friends

Raven could feel a headache beginning right behind her eyes. She had been in this Godforsaken place for almost two hours now. Staring at the crowds around her, she was forced to take a calming breath. _Why in Azar's name did I think this would be a good idea?_

Raven felt her temper rise as she was once again shoved in the back by the people behind her. She had to remind herself that the people here did not know her like those in Jump City. The citizens of Jump had long ago realized that Raven required a bit more space than the others. Very few, if any, people knew who Raven was here in Steel City. Her current attire did not exactly scream 'superhero' either. Raven glanced down at her new clothes.

One of the benefits of changing cities was the chance to try and be a little more 'normal'. Raven had decided long ago that she wanted to try and fit in a bit better and that had meant getting a new wardrobe. She was notorious for always wearing her uniform. Not that she was the only one to do so. Most of the titans tended to wear their uniforms everywhere since they were never sure when they would get a call. She didn't know when that had changed, but slowly the others had started to shed their uniforms. Raven had wanted to do the same, but a part of her was reluctant. So much had changed in the last year. She had started to open up and she had started to show more emotion. She wasn't ready to make a physical change as well.

That was something she could do here without the looks or the questions. These titans did not know that she only ever wore her uniform places. They would not give those knowing looks that the others might, however unintentionally. When Cy and she had agreed that she would be the temporary leader for the Titans East, she had created her own plan. This was a fresh start, a chance to get comfortable with a new Raven. She knew that if she became comfortable with the new her she was trying to create, no jokes, questions, or looks could bother her.

Parts of her transformation were easy. She had started with simply spending more time out of her room in the same areas as some of her friends. At first, they had been unsure about what to talk about with her, but they soon discovered that they did not always need to talk. Sometimes all they did was just sit in each others company. After that, she had found it easier and easier to open up to her friends. It had taken months but she was now more talkative with her friends and more open to the idea of going out for an evening. These had been subtle changes that were rarely questioned by the other titans. Of course, Beast Boy had voiced some concern that she might not be who she said she was.

As she was shoved in the back for the third time, she again reminded herself that this was all for a good cause. Before the prophecy came true, she had been a girl with no future, so she had not given a thought to it. Now her future was there, a vague and unknown venture. Both terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

Raven was shaken from these thoughts as she finally made it to the counter. _Thank God this is my last purchase._ She attempted to reign in a scowl as the woman at the counter rang in her new clothes. The woman gave her a sickening sweet smile. "Out for a little shopping are we? Oh I love this shirt." Raven barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the woman. Her silence did not seem to deter the talkative woman however. Raven tried to tune out the noise as she gathered her bags ready to depart.

Finally, she was ready to go. Without a second look to the overly cheery woman, Raven walked as quickly as possible to the nearest bathroom. She had decided she didn't want to draw any more attention to herself. Once inside an empty stall, Raven let her powers go to work. The mall was not far from the tower. She was able to quickly transport herself and all of her bags directly to her room. It was a little something that Cyborg had hooked up for her back home. It allowed her to phase right into the tower without setting off the alarms. He had been good enough to set up something similar here.

Once in her room Raven fell back on the bed. Here, where she was alone, she felt comfortable enough to let down her guard. She was still unsure about these boys. She knew Aqualad a bit. He seemed like he was going to be ok. At least he hadn't chattered away in her ear this morning. He had sat quietly and just enjoyed his morning. The twins were still a bit of a mystery. It didn't help that she didn't understand a word of what they said. They just seemed to be there.

She really wasn't sure about Speedy. Usually one glare from her had people running. Even Robin and Cyborg would cringe if she turned the Raven eye on them. It rarely happened with them, but when it did, they had the sense to back up quickly. This guy just smiled and laughed at her and she was not sure how to react to that.

Raven sighed, feeling her emotions start to bubble to the surface. She sat up from her bed. It was taller than her bed at home, with thick fluffy mattresses and topped with blue blankets and soft pillows. A thick white comforter lay folded at the bottom of the bed from when it grew colder. She had to admit that it was extremely comfortable. In the corner was a comfortable armchair with bookcases lining the walls. Nightstands and reading laps were scattered around the room, allowing for many comfortable nooks and crannies for reading. Obviously someone had informed the Titans East of her tastes. Admittedly the room was brighter than she was used to. The walls painted much lighter, but it made the room seem bigger, more inviting. As she crawled down from the bed she thought that maybe her room at home would need some redecorating. It really was a very comfortable room.

Raven made quick work of putting away all of her purchases and decided that a short meditation session was needed. After Trigon, she did not have to fight so hard to keep her darker self contained, but she still had to be careful with her emotions. Even with her father gone, she still had to control her reactions and her emotions. Maybe not as much as before, but her emotions were still tied to her powers and she was not about to let someone get hurt when she could avoid it.

By the time she was ready to face the new team it was dinner time. She heaved another sigh. It was not that she was uncomfortable with them, but she was not really comfortable either. It tended to make her a little more standoffish. As she entered the kitchen she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She could hear muffled shouts and her mind wandered to all of the fights Beast Boy and Cyborg had just before meals.

She glanced down at her current outfit. It would be the first time she would walk out of her room in anything other than pajamas or her uniform. The sun was still shining and the weather was still warm. Raven wore a white tank top with olive green cargo pants. She had traded her blue boots in for a pair of simple tennis shoes. The outfit was really quite comfortable. It was something she knew that she could 

fight in if she had to but it would also allow her some anonymity in public. Well, as much as she could get with purple hair and a chakra stone anyway.

She turned the corner with her scowl firmly in place. It would not do to have them see the smile when they were fighting. She saw Speedy sitting at the kitchen table with his feet up. She saw a pile of tacos in front of him. Aqualad was yelling at him, looking slightly sick.

"How many times do I have to tell you? If you are going to eat fish, do it where I can't see it. Good Lord Speedy, those could be my friends."

She watched as Speedy shrugged as he popped another taco into his mouth. "Then don't have such tasty friends. Besides, I didn't think you would be home. I thought you were going to hunt down our esteemed leader."

Raven decided to save Speedy from placing his foot firmly into his mouth just then. She stepped from the shadows. "And here I thought I would get away from the daily food wars." Her voice was emotionless. The two boys jerked their eyes towards the empath.

Aqualad was the first to break from his shock. "Raven, when did you get home? We were getting worried."

"I've been home for awhile now. I didn't use the front door."

Speedy smiled at her. Once again, Raven was not sure how to react to him. Even her fiercest scowl was not fazing him. "Princess, if I would have known you were home, I would have brought extra tacos."

Raven's jaw clenched at the sound of the nickname. Before he could finish, her eyes shone brightly and a lash of magic erupted from her hand. The magic whipped past Speedy's uniform cutting down from the neck just a bit. She gave the startled boy a glare. "Call me Princess again and I cut off something else, and I guarantee that it will be something you miss."

She watched as Speedy's pale face regained some color. He smiled a bit and chuckled. "Got it. Sorry Boss." He fingered the cut in his uniform. "Didn't know you were a tailor. You do good work. I think it makes me look rugged and handsome, don't you think so uni-tard guy?" Speedy looked at Aqualad.

Aqualad looked at Speedy and then looked at an obviously confused Raven. He gave a short shake of his head and smiled, just a bit. Obviously no one else had ever responded to her this way. He could actually see her place on an emotionless mask to cover the confusion. It took only a second before all her emotions were covered up.

It was at that moment that the two boys seemed to realize that Raven was not wearing her usual outfit. She tensed, waiting for questions or looks of some sort. Again Speedy succeeded in confusing her. Speedy smiled warmly. "You look good Raven."

She raised an eyebrow, looking for the joke she was sure was coming. "Thanks." Nothing came. No jokes, no laughs, and no raised eyebrows. After a few more moments, she gave a small smile. "So where are the twins?"

Speedy shrugged, "Around here somewhere. Probably on the upper deck playing video games. They already ate their tacos."

That seemed to remind Aqualad of their previous fight. He glared in Speedy's direction. "You know, if you are going to get food for everyone, you need to think about those of us that don't eat fish."

One thing with living with Cyborg and Beast Boy, Raven had long ago learned ways to stop the fight or at least shorten it. She stepped between the two boys. She turned her full gaze on Aqualad. "So you haven't eaten yet?"

This made the two boys pause. "No."

Raven turned and headed towards the door. "Good, then you can show me a good place to eat in this town." She was almost out the door when the shocked boys were able to react.

Aqualad was still standing by Speedy. "What?"

Speedy however was quicker on the uptake. He hated being left out of anything, and the chance to sit down and actually get to know Raven a bit was almost irresistible. "Hey, if water boy over here doesn't want to go, I could go for some more food."

He was partially up and heading towards Raven. She turned a look at him. "You already had food." She turned back to Aqualad. "Well, are you coming or not?" Without a second glance she was out the door. Aqualad jumped up and walked after her, shooting a smug look at Speedy.

He caught up to Raven and smiled at her. "So how do you feel about Thai food?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

This was the way to do it she decided. Aqualad had taken her to a small hole in the wall. The small restaurant was walking distance from the tower. It was private and the food was excellent. The two had not talked much during the walk over. Of the four boys, she was definitely most comfortable with this one. She had known Aqualad before and it didn't hurt that she had had the _tiniest_ crush on him when they had first met.

That was of course a long time ago. He was handsome, there was no denying that but the small crush had dissipated awhile ago. From what she could see, Aqualad was not one to argue. He was one who would work as a mediator and she had long ago realized that she needed someone with a bit more fire. She still enjoyed his company though. He was calming and quiet and Raven appreciated those qualities.

Even now, as they sat finishing their food, they were doing so quietly. He did not force conversation. With a contented sigh, Raven pushed her plate away. Aqualad chuckled. "So, was it as good as I promised?"

She smiled at him. "It was." Silence again took over. Finally Raven decided to make the first move. She had promised Cy that she would _try_ to be friendly with the boys. "So it was a good fight today. You have some good moves."

Aqualad raised his glass in a mock salute. "Thanks, but I think you were the one with the moves today. How did you get him to give up like that?"

Raven shrugged. "I've done it before. The move scares him." Aqualad shook his head at the answer.

"There's more to that story."

"Oh, and how do you know that?"

Aqualad was quiet for a moment. Finally he smiled. "I don't know. Maybe it's in the way your face becomes blank. It shows you are trying to not show emotion. When your face goes blank, it makes me think there is more to the story."

Raven stared at him, wide eyed. No one had ever told her that before. She knew that people close to her knew when she was not being entirely truthful, but this was the first person to tell her why they knew. She was so shocked by this revelation that she found herself telling the story of her first fight with Dr. Light. She edited some things, such as her different selves, but he got the general idea. When she finished, he was smiling at her.

"Well, I certainly can see why he doesn't want to test you again."

She shrugged. "I don't use that method all the time. I figure it will lose its effectiveness at some point, but when I want to end the fight quickly, I pull it out."

This led to a discussion about fighting techniques and reliving previous battles. The two friends paid for their meals and started walking home. Never once did Aqualad try to invade her space. He walked close, but with distance between them. He seemed to know she needed that space, though he never asked why. When they reached the tower Raven stopped outside the front door. She reached out and placed a hand on Aqualad's arm.

"Thank you."

He stopped short. "For what?"

She debated how much to say. She was not known for long speeches of gratitude. "I don't do well with change or working with new people. It takes me time to get used to people. You read people very well, and you seemed to know what I would need to be comfortable here. Thank you."

He smiled patting the hand on his arm. "Anytime Raven."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you to everyone that reviewed. Yay! The computer is still up and running. I am working on the next chapter even as we speak, so I will leave you to do that right now. Thank you again.


	9. Team Night

The next few weeks went by quickly. The new team was doing alright, but Raven had not been lying when she said it took time to get used to new people. There were different personalities that she had to understand and it took her some time. After a few weeks they were starting to act a bit more like a well organized team. In fact, they had developed a kind of routine. Every morning she would wake up to find a hot cup of tea waiting outside her door. He had the paper waiting for her and a cup of juice for himself. They had about an hour of peace and quiet before the twins rolled out of bed.

The twins would zip around the room for a bit before they decided on what to cook. Raven usually moved to the kitchen during this time just so she could be ready with the fire extinguisher. They could not cook, at all. But that didn't stop them from trying every morning. Raven had finally broken down and started to help them with breakfast. Cyborg had only taught her the basics, but it was better than the things they were creating. Aqualad smiled at her the first day she cooked breakfast.

"See why Bee always cooked? We boys are useless when it comes to the stove."

After that remark, he too had been recruited into Raven's school for the culinary arts. Slowly, and with more patients than anyone knew Raven possessed, she taught the three boys the basics that Cy had taught her. Now they took turns making breakfast in the mornings. Aqualad had picked up quickly, but she still had to watch the twins. She would sit by the kitchen and sigh good naturedly every time they burned something. It was a bit having brothers. Little, annoying, but rather endearing brothers. They had repaid her teachings by helping her to learn Spanish. She was picking it up rather quickly. They were even holding basic conversations now.

By the time everyone would finish their meals, Speedy would eventually roll out of bed. This would start the verbal sparring match of the morning. As good as Raven was, she rarely won. No matter what was said, the young man let it slide right off his back. Nothing fazed him or hurt his feelings. Speedy was still the one Raven was having trouble with. No matter what she did, he kept using little nick names for her. Just when they would start to have a decent conversation, he would have to 'lighten the atmosphere' and soon she found herself confused and angry with him.

This morning was no different. It had been a very busy month for both teams. It seemed that all the local criminals realized that the teams were not the same and they were testing them. They couldn't go more than a few hours before an alarm sounded. Raven had not had a decent conversation with any of the Western Titans in weeks. Every time the communicators rang, the alarm at either end did too. It was making her irritable and home sick. Maybe that was why Speedy ended up the way he did.

Speedy entered in his usual manner. It was one thing she noticed about him. He was very touchy. He liked to sling an arm around her waist, or lean into her personal space. It was like he couldn't have a conversation with a girl unless he was touching them in some way. She knew he was not conscious of it, with her at least. She could understand enough of his emotions to know that. But she also knew that he enjoyed making her uncomfortable. He enjoyed the nicknames and the barbs.

Today he chose to come behind her and lean into her space from behind. He took in a deep breath. "Smells good, Princess. Did you cook today?"

"That's It!" With a growl she turned on the boy who suddenly found himself upside down hanging in mid air. She watched as the blood rushed to his face and he let out a shout.

"What the hell?"

"My Name Is Not Princess!" Her voice was low and calm, each word coming out so evenly and seriously that one could not help but lean in closer to hear her. She felt herself taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. Her powers were in control and yet they were not. This had been instinct, something a bit out of her control and is scared her. It was that thought, that she was not fully in control that caused her to drop him. She looked at him with wide eyes unable to believe that she had just done this. She held her hands to her mouth, "I'm sorry." Raven slowly backed out of the room and walked quickly to her bedroom.

A few moments later there was a tentative knock followed by Speedy's voice. "Raven? Rae? Are you in there? Open up please….look I'm sorry."

With those words she opened the door. She was still shocked about her lack of control. "What do you have to be sorry about? I lost control there, I should be sorry. I am sorry. It has been a long time since I lost control." She knew this was more than she usually talked, but something inside her snapped and she could not shut off the words. Speedy raised his hands in surrender.

"Relax Rae. I know you wouldn't hurt me. I obviously was pushing too hard." Raven closed her mouth and watched him, wide eyed. For once, her face was an open book. He could read the naked astonishment. _So you can show emotion. Who knew?_

Speedy continued. "Look, I know I push people's buttons. Consider it a gift." Raven crossed her arms and he watched as the mask fell back into place. He smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck. "And I should have known when you said to stop, I needed to stop. I pushed you too far, and I'm sorry. I probably deserved the hang gliding act."

Raven didn't say a word. She stared at him hard. Without thinking, she leaned forward and hugged Speedy, throwing her whole body into it. The archer was taken aback for a brief moment and then he hugged her back. After a moment or two, she pulled away. He smiled at her as she frowned. "You tell anyone about that, and you are a dead man."

Raven closed her door to the sound of laughter.

XXXXXXXXX

The next week found Raven getting along much better with the archer. He still managed to push every button she had, but they had an understanding. When she simply said 'stop' there was no hesitation, he stopped. Now, if she threatened his life or his manhood, he merely laughed and continued to tease her. All in all, the friendships were developing quite nicely.

To top it off, things were finally settling down. She had not had a chance to talk to anyone from Titans West yet, they were still pretty busy, but her new little team was working out quite well. With fewer battles the team had started combat training in the mornings. They had been so busy in the last month that she did not see it as being necessary. They were getting plenty of combat practice out in the field. By now, the local criminals had realized that this team was just as strong with a new member. They made mistakes still. They were still learning Raven's style and she was still learning theirs, but they took care of things rather quickly.

Raven was a different type of leader. She was not as forward as Bumblebee or Robin. She was also not as vocal. They learned to look at her because most of the time, her directions came from her eyes rather than her voice. One look and Aqualad knew what to do. One glance at Speedy or the twins and they sped into action. That didn't mean she never used her voice. She still called out commands, but the more they worked together, the more she didn't need to. They just knew what she wanted them to do.

Part of this skill came from training, and part of it came from understanding one another. After the Speedy incident, the team decided that they needed to get to know each other better. That was when the boys had come up with 'Team Night'. They now had 'Team Night" (Raven still shuddered a bit at the name) at least two nights a week. In basic terms, they did things as a team. They took turns deciding what they would do, but everyone had to participate.

And that was how she found herself wandering the Saturday Market in Steel City. She was not allowed to bring a book or to wander off on her own. She had to spend time with each member of the team during the night. As she had read through the rules of 'Team Night', Raven realized just how many were focused on her. She shook her head and looked up at the boys.

"Am I required to smile?"

They had laughed at this. "Only if you want to Princess."

And so here she was, wandering small booths in an attempt to get to know her fellow titans. The market was actually very nice. The booths had everything from food to clothing. There were booths with homemade jewelry and items containing 'mystical powers'. Those were the booths that made her smirk. She walked slowly taking in the sights and sounds and smells.

Aqualad walked beside her. The group had decided to go casual dress today, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Speedy had removed the mask and replaced it with sunglasses. Aqualad also wore sunglasses, but more to cover his obsidian eyes than anything else. Raven's chakra stone was covered using a small glamour and the twins were not allowed to go faster than a slow jog. As she took in a breath of air, she felt herself smile. She was actually enjoying herself.

The twins were just ahead of her. They had found a food stall and were busily loading up on everything they could get their hands on. She shook her head and lightly elbowed Aqualad. "They are as bad as Cy." He chuckled.

It was Aqualad's turn to nudge Raven. "I think Roy has gone and made some friends." Raven rolled her eyes. Speedy was leaning casually on the table flirting with a group of giggling girls.

"I don't understand him." Aqualad smiled at her.

"Took me a little while to figure him out too. He certainly doesn't react in a way you expect…to anything."

She turned to look at some jewelry. She glanced at Aqualad. "Exactly. I always know how people will react. I know how to make them back off, to give me room. He just doesn't know when to stop."

This was said matter of factly, without any rancor. She was only now starting to understand that she had to approach Speedy in a very different way than any other person she had ever worked with. As she thought about this enigma that was Speedy, her eyes spotted a beautiful necklace with a gorgeous green stone. It was simple and delicate. Raven smiled. _Star would love this._ Without a second thought, Raven bought the necklace.

"Star will love that." Aqualad was leaning over her shoulder. Raven started.

"How did you know I was getting this for Star?"

He shrugged. "It matches her eyes. And green really doesn't go with your hair."

Raven looked at the boy next to her, unsure what to say. Rather than say anything, she shook her head and began to walk again. The silence was finally broken by Aqualad. "You know it took me a long time to figure out Roy."

"Oh, and what did you discover?"

"He likes the attention."

Raven smiled at Aqualad. "Nooooooo." The sarcasm in her voice could not be missed. "I never would have guessed Roy liked to have attention."

Aqualad chuckled. "I know, amazing isn't it?" He glanced at the young man in question. "I don't know much about his life before the titans, but I get the feeling that he never felt like he was a full part of whatever group he was in. I think he makes jokes and acts the way he does to make sure we don't forget him. We have no choice but to react to him and thus we are always reminded that he is here, that he is part of the group."

Raven was quiet for a moment. All of a sudden, the boy made sense. Of course he wanted to be included, didn't everyone? She liked her privacy, she liked her solitude, but there were many times that she had felt overlooked. Speedy was someone you couldn't overlook, and maybe that was what he feared.

She turned and smiled at Aqualad. "Thanks. I think that helps." With that Raven walked away from Aqualad and went straight to Speedy. He was leaning forward, the girls were eating out of the palm of his hand. Raven leaned forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The gentle touch had him spinning around. He saw who it was and gave her a confused smile. "Hey. Everything all right?"

Raven gave him a serious look. If he wanted attention, she would give him attention. "So glad I found you Roy. We need to talk."

He continued to smile in a confused way. "Can it wait a minute, I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Just then, one of the girls spoke up. It was a young blond with ice colored eyes. Really a very stunning girl. "Who is this Roy?" Her voice was a bit cold and her eyes were hard as she glanced at Raven.

Before Raven could say anything, Speedy jumped in. "This is my…friend, Rachel." Raven jumped in.

"Really Roy, don't be so shy. I'm more like a sister. Nice to meet you girls."

The girls no longer gave her the hard looks and they seemed to relax. She turned back to Roy. "I'm just passing on a message from Janet. She just went to the doctor. She says everything is fine, but you might need to go in to get some ointment for that rash." She watched as his eyebrows rose above his glasses. She couldn't see his eyes, but she knew he had to be in complete shock. She gave him an evil little grin.

When they turned to the table, the girls were giggling and staring at Speedy. Raven watched as his face took on a very nice red color. Without a word, the two girls stood up and walked away, giggling like mad.

Speedy turned to Raven, a look of shock still on his face. His voice was quiet and low. "What the HELL was that? I almost had their numbers. Honestly Rae, what the HELL?"

Raven was still grinning. "Consider it payback for Princess." It took a moment to sink in. She could actually see his brain working. Finally, the reaction she was waiting for came through. He threw his head back and he laughed. The smile disappeared from her face and she raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were an actress Rae. That was really good."

"Thank you." He continued to laugh. Finally Raven turned to walk away.

"So are you coming or not? The whole idea is a team day and if I have to suffer, so do you."

Speedy was still chuckling as he followed her to a very confused looking Aqualad. "I'm coming Princess."

After that day, their relationship changed. Raven no longer tensed every time he used her nickname. She no longer felt that she was on a tilt a whirl with him. Now she took his teasing for just that, teasing. In 

fact, she dished it out as good as she got. And when it got to be too much, she could still say stop and he would back off. The team was coming together quite nicely, until Speedy had his turn at picking the destination for Team Night.


	10. Speedy Goes Shopping

Over at Titans West, the atmosphere was a bit more tense. Robin was finding that working with Bumblebee was more difficult than he thought it would be. She was a strong fighter who knew her stuff. She was upbeat and very smart. In fact she was great at taking control…and that was the problem. She was used to taking control. At Titans East she was the leader and that is something that is difficult to give up. They would be half way through a fight or training, and she would fall into her leader role and it was becoming confusing for the team.

Everyone would look to Robin for a reaction. It wasn't that she was trying to take over the team, but after years as a leader it was an ingrained reaction. The big problem came when the order were contradicting. The rest of the team were used to following Robin with few, if any, questions asked. When Bumblebee made a slip up, Cyborg would be stuck in the middle. It made for a tense and awkward situation for the team.

On top of that Robin felt like things were off. He was used to Raven's calming silences. It was the way he had always started his days. It had been something he could always count on. Even after late nights and stressful cases, he could still feel a calm settle on him, even a brief one, after his mornings with her.

Now he felt like everything was tilted, thrown off. Bumblebee seemed to catch on that he preferred silence in the mornings, but it was not the same. Her silences seemed to hold energy. It was like everything she was thinking was straining to come out. She had ideas she wanted to share and her silence was strained and full of energy. Rather than calming him down, it grated on his nerves. The rest of the team seemed to thrive off the energy, but Robin felt jittery and he could feel that his temper was on a short fuse.

To make matters worse, they were not getting a break. Things apparently had settled down at Titans East, but it was still going strong in the west. It made for little sleep and even shorter tempers. The team had just returned from a fight with Plasmus. It had not been as quick without Raven. Everyone was sore and tired and all Robin wanted to do was curl up with a cup of hot coffee. Maybe even a cup of tea. It had always served to calm Raven.

Star and BB had gone into town to pick up some pizza for dinner. He didn't know what had happened to Cy and Bumblebee.

As he entered the tower's main room, he realized he had walked in on the two. He felt a surge of irritation. He didn't want to intrude on their private time, and yet he would have to in order to make his tea. With a sigh he turned to head to his room when he caught sight of the TV screen. There was Raven with a small scowl on her face. Surrounding her were the Titans East. They seemed to be relaxed and laughing. The same could be said of Cy and Bumblebee. Robin felt a small smile grace his face. He could feel his whole person relax.

He leaned casually against the wall. It was then that he started to listen to the conversation. Cyborg was laughing.

"You're doing what?"

Robin watched Raven's scowl deepen. "Team Night."

Bumblebee chimed in. "And what exactly is Team Night?"

Aqualad smiled from around Raven. "It's a little thing we do a few nights a week. It helps us get to know each other. Everyone participates."

Robin felt a frown. Team Nights? And Raven participated? Willingly? He felt himself straighten and walk into the room. He voiced his disbelief. "You mean Rae actually participates."

Every face turned to him. There were a chorus of greetings and Robin found himself smiling at Raven's scowl. "I repeat, Rae participates?"

She turned her scowl to him. He felt a small jump in his heart. _What the hell was that?_ He frowned slightly until he heard Raven's response.

She stood with arms across her chest. "Not always willingly." Robin smiled at that. It was a classic Raven response. He met her eyes on screen and saw her scowl soften to a Raven smile. Just this little conversation was doing wonders. Hell, just seeing her was calming him. At least until Speedy leaned over and threw an arm around her shoulders. He felt irritation rise again. _What did that…that…whatever think he was doing? _Robin waited for Raven to scowl and shrug his arm off. He waited for her to make a scathing remark that would send him backing away quickly, but she did nothing. In fact she didn't seem to mind the touch at all.

He listen to the laughing archer. "That's why we have special Raven rules."

Cyborg laughed. "And what would those be?"

Speedy lifted his arm and began to tick off rules on his fingers. "No reading. There must be participation and conversation for most of the night. No sneaking off early. At least one story or fact about oneself must be shared during the night. And appropriate attire must be worn."

Bumblebee smiled at the last one. "What constitutes appropriate attire?"

"Well, we are going out to become a closer team, and we can't do that if we are in uniform. Makes it hard to go incognito. So civilian clothes are a must." With that Speedy glanced a the clock. "Speaking of which, we have to go."

Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "And why is that?"

"Cuz I'm picking your outfit for the night. We are going out and jeans and t-shirt just won't work. I need to make sure you are dressed appropriately."

"I can assure you I have been dressing myself for years. I don't need your help."

Speedy began tugging on her arm. "Sorry Rae, my night my rules. Let's go." He began dragging the protesting girl out of the room. A round of goodbyes was said and the screen went blank. Robin found himself staring at an empty screen, strangely quiet.

Cyborg smiled a bit sadly. Bumblebee leaned on his shoulder. "You miss her don't you?"

"Yeah…" Suddenly he grinned. "But can you just picture her in civilians?" The two laughed. He turned to his quiet leader. "Hey Rob, we are gonna watch a movie, do you want to join?"

Robin looked up startled. He felt funny, like something in a puzzle was just not fitting. He shook his head. "No thanks. I'm just going to make some tea and relax on the roof. Enjoy the movie." He walked slowly away to make tea with his brain going a thousand miles a minute. The other two exchanged looks.

Cyborg made his way to Robin. "Yo Rob, you sure you ok man? You look like someone just knocked you around some."

"I'm fine. Just tired, it's been a long week."

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah. But hey, you know if you need to talk, I'm here to listen."

Robin smiled at his friend. "I know. See you two later."

He sat on the roof for a long time. A stiff breeze blew indicating that colder weather was on its way. He could feel a chill, and yet he was not ready to go in. Talking to Raven had calmed him significantly, but something was off. His mind kept picturing Speedy, an arm slung around her pulling her close. The image would not go away nor would the irritation he felt. Just what was going on? It was a very long time before he went inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile at Titans East, Raven was beginning to dread the upcoming night. She stood on the escalator with arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Her head was upturned and staring at Speedy.

"And just why are we here?"

He smiled and laughed. "Because you wouldn't let me into your room to help you pick out an outfit. So you can't give me that look. I tried to make it easy on you. Now come on, we don't have much time to get you dressed."

Her scowl deepened. "I don't see why you have to dress me and yet you leave the boys to their own devices without further thought."

He chuckled as he pulled her into a nearby store. "That's because I trust them to wear something suitable to a club."

Raven shuddered. She couldn't believe he was dragging her to a club. The noise and crowds and loud music was enough to turn her off right there. She heaved a sigh and prepared for the worse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven stared at her reflection in the mirror some time later. A small hand reached out to touch the face in the mirror. It was hers and yet it wasn't. Speedy had pulled her store from store and by the time he was done, she was dressed and had makeup as well.

That had been as close to a fight as they got during the little shopping trip. She didn't see the need for makeup. It wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone. He had been firm about this.

"Rae, remember its my night so my rules. I get to get you ready for the club."

"And you did. I will be all dressed up."

"I don't want you just dressed up, I want you dolled up."

"I am not a doll."

"No you are a girl, and trust me, there comes a time when every girl wants to look nice."

"Are you saying I don't look nice?"

He had rolled his eyes at that and heaved a long suffering sigh. "Nice try Rae. I won't fall into that trap." His eyes softened. "And I am not thinking a lot of makeup, just a touch. Trust me."

And now she stood looking at a girl that she was not sure she really recognized. Her hair had grown over the last few months. It was not much longer, but she could almost pull it back in a pony tail. Speedy and taken her to someone who did something with a bunch of bottles and a curling iron. It had soft waves and was slicked back a bit at the front so she could see. He had kept his promise. The makeup was not overdone. It was light and yet accentuated her eyes and gave her lips a slick look. The outfit he had chosen was simple, and yet something she would have never picked out. He had let her wear jeans, but the top was of his choosing. It was black and draped over her in a very flattering way. She had expected something showing off too much skin, but he had good taste. It was surprisingly conservative. It still had a bit of skin. One shoulder was left bare as the shirt was designed to fall off the left shoulder. It even had a bow of sorts on that shoulder, and yet she didn't mind it. She came off looking…really nice.

She came out of her room with slightly wide eyes. Speedy grinned and gave a wolf whistle. "You look good Rae. What's with the deer in the headlights look?"

She turned wide eyes back at him. "I look…pretty."

His grin widened. "No, you look gorgeous. Now let's get this party started."

He took her arm and headed down to meet the other boys. As the two headed to the upper deck to meet up with the boys, she watched their eyed widen. Soon she was surrounded by the boys, all ready to give compliments. She actually found herself blushing. She pushed them back a bit and smiled softly.

"You guys look really good too."

She meant that. The twins wore jeans and t-shirts. Over that were two matching button up shirts open all the way. The shirts were brightly colored. There was no way she could miss them in a crowd. Aqualad was a bit more conservative. He just had jeans and a dark blue t-shirt that hugged his body. It accentuated his muscles and looked really good. His dark hair was pulled back from his face and a gentle smile lit his face. Finally Raven turned to Speedy. The clubber was dressed similarly to Aqualad. He too had a tight t-shirt, but his was in a bright red. Something that was very Speedy. His hair was slicked back and his eyes smiled down on her. She found herself grinning at her team.

"All right. Let's get this night over with."

The friends hooked arms and headed for the door.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, sorry it has been so long and it is so short. Hope you like anyway. Next chapter is the club.


	11. Dancing at the Club

She knew it was a bad idea the moment she stepped near the entrance of the club

She knew it was a bad idea the moment she stepped near the entrance of the club. She could already hear the pounding music as they neared the entrance. Luckily they didn't have to stand in line with the eager crowd. It had been a busy day and Raven's morning meditation had been cut short. She had not made it back to finish so she was already feeling irritable and now with the pounding music and the crowds pulsating to said music was a recipe for a huge migraine.

The club looked like any other building that lined the street. The only indication that it was something different was the line outside and the red rope gate. Near the doorsw were two bright lights to allow the bouncers to check IDs as well as draw attention to the door. There was no neon or sign to tell you that this was in fact a club.

Speedy lead them away from the line that snaked its way down the sidewalk. At the front was a rather large beefy man with his arms crossed over his chest. The small group followed Speedy as he plastered a smile on his face.

Raven watched as the once intimidating man changed before her eyes. His arms dropped and he smiled at Speedy. He had a deep laugh as he reached to shake Speedy's hand.

"Roy, long time no see. How you been?"

"Hey Paul. I've been good, just busy. Good crowd today."

"Yep yep. Not bad." The man glanced around Speedy. He winked at Raven. "I see you have better taste than last time I saw you."

Normally this overly friendly manner would irk Raven, but she found herself smiling at the man. Well, more of a smirk really, but there was something about that man that just made her smile. Speedy laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders. She found that it was his usual pose with her and she had grown accustomed to the arm. In fact, she felt that something was off if he wasn't touching her in some way when they were together.

"Aw now Paul, I always had great taste."

"Yeah, but this one looks high class. Brains and looks." Paul turned again to wink at Raven. "What are you thinking hooking up with this guy?"

The boys behind them laughed lightly. Before Speedy could answer Raven raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm with him?" She slipped away from Speedy and grabbed Aqualad's hand. She winked back at Paul. "I am the one with the brains after all."

Aqualad joined in. He pulled Raven closer. "Yeah, well that would be why you are choosing me over him. Hate to tell you Roy but I think I win this round."

The small group laughed at Speedy's shocked face. Soon he was joining in. "Paul, I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Rachel." Speedy pulled her back to his side with a wink. He nodded at Aqualad and the twins. "The tall one who was attempting to steal Rachel from me is Garth and the two shorties there are Armando and Emmanuel but we just call them Manny and Mando."

Paul continued to grin. "Nice to meet y'all." He turned again to Speedy. "Better get you guys inside. You know Ben's here tonight. You might want to say hi."

Paul reached over and opened the doors to the club and ushered the group in. Speedy turned and smiled. "Will do. Thanks again Paul. Have a good night." Raven watched as Paul winked at her once more before putting on his serious face and turning back to the waiting crowd.

Raven turned to Speedy. The noise had increased tenfold the moment they walked through the door and she had to lean up close to his ear. Even then she almost had to shout and they hadn't even made it to the main room. "So it's not what you know but who you know I take it."

"Of course, Princess."

Raven just shook her head at the nickname and followed the group down the hallway. Speedy had told them a little bit about the club. It was set up to look like one giant house party. It was like walking into a mansion. There was artwork on the walls and chairs in the hall for waiting guests. There was a staircase that would lead to the balcony with extra tables and such as well as private rooms for important guests and performers. In front of these stairs stood a man dressed as a butler helping to direct traffic.

Speedy turned them to the left and any idea of a house party disappeared. Raven assumed that the room was supposed to represent a living room in your typical mansion but she failed to see it. All of her senses were assaulted with the blaring music. High tables were scattered around the perimeter of a dance floor. There was a stage at the front with a DJ booth off to one side. A woman with barely any clothing stood there carefully choosing her records and music while laughing as the crowd below her was shouting to be heard.

The stage was not overly large but it was raised enough that those performing could not be easily grabbed or touched. Right now it was empty but Raven had been told that later that night there would be a performer or two.

There were dark alcoves scattered around with couches and low tables. At one side was a bar that was obviously very busy. Looking up there was the upper level balcony that snaked its way around the room. At the edges were tall and short tables and many closed doors behind the tables.

The room was dark with the occasional light flash in blue or startling white. In one corner was a strobe light that was almost blinding. Couples and friends were out on the floor gyrating to the music while others were cuddled on couches or attempting to hold conversations on couches or at tables.

One look at Raven knew this was a really bad idea. He heart was starting to beat faster, and not in a good way. Only years of training kept her face and body neutral but she was beginning to feel uneasy.

All around her people seemed to be staring. She looked down to make sure that her top was still on correctly. Everything seemed in order. She gave a confused look to her friends. The music faded out as Speedy leaned close to her ear. "Relax. You look great. They just see a pretty girl and they have to look." That comment startled her as she looked up to see the deep green eyes reassuring her. She felt her body relax marginally. Aqualad leaned over while the DJ made some announcement to the crowd about the upcoming song.

"Let's find a couch. They are more private than those tables." Raven gave a grateful smile to him. He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. She felt her hands being tugged. The twins were gently pulling her to an open couch. As they claimed seats, Speedy and Aqualad headed towards the bar to grab drinks for everyone.

The small alcoves where the couches were brought back some semblance of reality. It was still loud and obnoxious but it was quieter and more private. She felt her body relax to almost normal. Her heartbeat was still a bit erratic, but it was calming slowly. She sat and had a brief but loud conversation with the boys in Spanish. She was still learning new words and grammar, but she could hold most conversations now in Spanish. It had been only a few months, but it was something she was good at.

If this was the night, she could do this. One glance at the dance floor caused her to shudder though. All those bodies in one place was not natural. She turned to a tapping on her shoulder. She knew it was not one of the boys. They were still making their way back from the bar through the crowd.

She turned and came face to face with a stunning brunette. There was no other word for this man that stood before her. Glossy chocolate locks fell forward as he smiled down at her. Deep blue eyes twinkled in a narrow tan face. He was tall and well dressed in slacks and a t-shirt the same shade of blue as his eyes. She saw muscles move fluidly as he reached out a hand to her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I saw you come in and I had to come meet the beauty with the brilliant eyes."

Raven felt a slight flush reach her cheeks. His voice was low and velvety. Without thinking she placed a hand in his. He clasped her one hand in two of his. They were warm and smooth. She felt a spark as they touched and suddenly her body infused with heat. He slowly brought her hand to his lips never once breaking eye contact. As his lips touched her skin she saw a flash. Her powers were now working on overdrive. She saw flashes of color and she felt her earlier nerves return. Something was off with her powers. Why did she leave without finishing her meditation? She was starting to feel her control slip just the tiniest bit.

Just then a familiar weight settled on her shoulders. The man dropped her hand with wide eyes. A drink was pressed into her hand and the cold glass shocked her senses back to life. She felt the blush spread across her cheeks even more. The man smiled.

"Roy? Is that you? I was told you had made it out tonight."

She felt rather than heard Speedy chuckle in return as his arm was removed to shake the man's hand. "Ben. Good to see you." His arm returned to her shoulders as he settled back on the couch. Aqualad took a place next to her. She felt the twins move in closer. She felt warmth infuse her being. They were closing ranks. They had seen she was not fully ok, and they were taking care of her. Raven gave a smile and reached a hand out to squeeze Speedy's leg. It was her way of telling him she was ok. She settled back.

The man in front of her had settled on the table. He winked at her. "Should have known the beauty was taken."

She felt Speedy's arm tighten slightly. "Yep. Can't let her out of my sight, otherwise I'm afraid she'll wise up and leave my happy ass."

Raven spoke up. "Hmmm, not a bad idea. I think I could find someone in crowd." Ben chuckled and Raven turned to Speedy. "So how do you two know each other?"

Speedy smiled. "Oh Ben and I go way back. We went to school for awhile. His dad owns the club, but Ben runs it. At least until his dad hands over the company reigns."

"But don't think less of me just because of the company I used to keep." Raven smiled. "Damn, too bad you are taken Beauty. You always had the luck Roy. So who are your friends?"

"Well this is Rachel, that is Garth and the twins are Mando and Manny."

"Well pleased to meet you." Soon they were all talking as if old friends. Ben had a great sense of humor. He chuckled at the twins. "I should introduce you to my cousins. They are trying to learn Spanish and you are about the same age. They are around here somewhere." Within a few minutes, Mas and Menos were off to meet the cousins for a few dances.

When they were alone again Aqualad leaned over. "You ok Rae? You looked like you were going to loose it not too long ago."

She turned to the worried eyes of her friend. "I'm fine. I just didn't finish my meditation so his touch caught me off guard, but I am ok now." She wasn't completely lying. Her body was becoming more centered as she sat with her friends, but something was still off. She tried to banish the thought and enjoy team night. It had been something she had shuddered at, but now she found she enjoyed the nights. She winced as the music was blaring again and she could barely hear Speedy and Aqualad talking. She made a correction, she enjoyed MOST nights.

Soon the twins came into view dancing with two lovely brunettes. They beckoned their friends to come over. Speedy was up pulling on her hands. "Come on Rae, time to dance."

She frantically searched for a reason to stay on the couch. She was just getting emotions under control. Going out there was a really bad idea. "But someone has to watch the couch. All our stuff is here."

Aqualad spoke up with a little wink to Speedy. "I've got it Rae. You go have fun. We can switch off couch duty."

Speedy nudged her and directed his eyes to a shy looking blonde over in the corner making eyes at Aqualad. "Besides, he met Renee over there at the bar and I do believe he would like to continue their earlier discussion."

Raven sighed. There would be no getting out of this. She could already tell. Speedy confirmed this. "Remember Rae, my night my rules and I say you have to dance with me at least once tonight."

He pulled her out towards the crowd. As they reached the edge of the wriggling mass, she balked. "This is a bad idea Roy."

He looked at her and smiled. "Relax Rae. I'll be with you. Besides you handled more people than this when we broke up that mob a few days ago." He wouldn't hear any protests and slowly dragged her into crowd which just served to make things worse.

As soon as she had left the confines of the small alcove, emotions began to swirl around her. This was nothing new. One of the first things she had ever learned to do was shut down emotions. That was part of the reason she meditated in the morning, sometimes even twice. When she was asleep, she was vulnerable. She was more apt to read unwanted emotions. Her meditation brought her center back so she was able to control everything.

But she had been interrupted today. She thought everything would be fine, but she was wrong. Her defenses were weak and now that she was closer to the mob of people, she knew it. She felt as though she was being beaten over the head. She didn't hear voices, but her body took over the emotions and all of a sudden she was reacting.

Rage, jealousy, love, despair, joy, lust and every other emotion you could come up with were assaulting her. She could no longer distinguish her own emotions from those she was feeling around her.

To top it off, every movement brought her into contact with someone else and colors exploded around her as she felt these emotions very acutely. There were no words, but she understood why each emotion was being projected.

Raven felt her body begin to shake and her control slip. Her power began to build. All the feelings were increasing her power to a dangerous level. She yanked her hand from Speedy's grasp. Her breathing was labored. Power licked its way down her arms and legs. She felt it straining to be released. Small black fires licked their way up and down her body, pooling in her toes and hands.

Raven hit the floor on her knees, trying to drown out the emotions, trying to gain her control back. She was aware of Speedy on the floor next to her, but she couldn't hear or understand him. Too many emotions swamped her body making her sick to her stomach. She felt the bile rise. She looked around, here eyes wide with fear. She was going to lose control and all these people…

Raven panicked and before Speedy could do anything she phased through the floor and she was gone.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Outside in some park near the club, Raven felt the emotions swirling around her. She was still in panic mode and she started to run. She had to get away from people; she needed to get away from everyone. She could not release anything here. The power was still building. He panic was increasing it even more and her control was almost nonexistent. Raven stumbled and fell. She never felt her communicator fall out. She just pulled herself up and started to run again.

She had to gain control, she had to calm down. Raven ran as fast as she could, trying to do something that didn't involve thought, didn't involve emotions. She concentrated on her moving feet rather than where she was going.

Step step, breathe in breathe out, step step. Her feet pounded on the ground, her breathing became steady. Slowly she felt the power reside and her control return. Sweat poured down her body. Nothing was going to break her concentration. Her body was tired, screaming at her to stop, but she continued to run. No direction, no where to go, but just to run.

She didn't know how long she had gone or how far, but soon she could see the tower. She slowed to a jog and soon a walk. She was breathing heavily and the night air slowly cooled her skin. Her body was exhausted.

It was then that she remembered her friends. She knew they would be worried. Quickly she grabbed for her communicator. _Shit. Now I have to track that down too._ Her head hung tiredly, Raven entered the tower straight into her room. She looked into the mirror and grimaced at her appearance. Surprisingly she did not look that bad, at least her clothing didn't, but her makeup was smudged and her hair was a wild cloud around her face.

Knowing her appearance would concern her friends more than anything, she quickly changed course to wash her face and brush her hair. She looked a bit more calm and a bit more like her normal self. With a sigh she headed to the main room upper deck so she could call the communicators and find her fallen communicator.

As she entered the room she was surprised to find it lit up. There on the couch sat four very angry set of eyes. Speedy jumped from the couch to grab her by the shoulders. He shook her lightly. She could feel his anger and fear and she hung her head. She didn't have the energy for this. "Where the hell have you been? We have been worried sick Rae. One minute I am holding your hand and the next you are on the floor crying out and then you were gone. We looked for hours! Hours Rae, and you were no where. What the hell?!"

Aqualad placed a hand on Speedy's shoulders. "Relax. I am sure there is a very good reason. Right, Rae?" He turned his dark eyes on her and she felt his anger and worry as well. She looked at the couch to see the twins in identical positions on the couch, frowns on their faces and small arms crossed. Their feet didn't even touch the floor.

Another shake drew her attention back to a very angry Speedy. Now that she was safe, he was mad, no, he was pissed off. How could she run off like that? She felt his body shaking. Something about that brought tears to her eyes. She was not emotionally ready for this. A few tears leaked out of her eyes. Luckily her head was still lowered and they could not see it.

Her voice was soft. "I'm sorry. I just… I'm sorry. I tried to call, but my communicator must have dropped out of my pocket when I ran."

"You mean this one?" Raven's head shot up. There in Speedy's hand was her communicator. She reached for it.

"Where did you find it?"

"When we couldn't find you, we tracked your communicator and you were no where to be found. It was outside the park."

She nodded, "Thank you."

Speedy let his hand drop to her hips. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Lord Rae, when we couldn't find you… I thought…" Speedy's voice caught and he couldn't continue.

Instinctively her arms hugged him back. It felt good, warm and safe. She fought back more tears. After one more tight squeeze, Speedy let go and led her to the couch. Everyone sat around her. Seeming to know that she was close to the edge, Speedy kept his hands to himself for once. She was very close to losing it and if he continued to touch her, she knew she would lose it.

Aqualad spoke. "So why did you run off Rae?"

She sighed. "It was too much. Too many people, too many emotions."

"But you deal with touching people all the time. I mean there was the mob and then there was the group of fans at the mall last week." Raven shuddered at Speedy's words. She had really been uncomfortable in the fan mob.

"Yes, but I was centered. I didn't finish my meditation this morning. I wasn't fully centered."

"Well, why didn't you tell us? We could have waited while you centered." Aqualad spoke again.

"I thought I would be fine. And I was until I got into the crowd."

"So too many emotions for an empathy who is not centered. But that doesn't explain why you ran off. Why not just come back to the couch?"

She met Aqualad's eyes fully. "I couldn't."

Speedy broke in, his anger rising again. "The least you could have was tell us you needed a break, a breather. Then we would have got you out of there."

She turned to Speedy. "I couldn't. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but I couldn't. I needed to get out of there."

"But why?"

She could feel his frustration. He wanted to understand and yet he didn't. "Ok, but this counts as my tidbit for team night. Try not to interrupt; I am not feeling up to staying up late."

The others nodded, knowing that what she meant was that she was not up to this and if they interrupted too many times, she would not be able to finish tonight. There was something open and vulnerable about her tonight. She took a deep breath and began.

"It's not easy to be emotionless. It is something I have worked very hard at. Never happy, never sad, just sarcastic and distant." She held up her hand to stop Speedy's comment. "Don't kid yourself. I know that's what I am because I have to be. Yes I have been better since making friends, but it is something I have to be very careful about. My powers are tied to emotions. The more I feel, the power that is released. The more power, the more difficult it is to control. I try not to be emotional because it can be difficult to control and people get hurt.

The problem with being an empath is that you can read others' emotions. Unfortunately, when I am not centered, or there are a lot of emotions, my body can lose the distinction between my emotions and others' emotions. It starts to react to others' emotions as if they are my own and soon my mind follows suit. Soon I am reacting to emotions that are not mine and I can lose myself. Then I have a lot of emotion building inside of me which means my other powers grow to point I cannot control them. That is what happened tonight. I was ready to explode. It was all I could do to keep my powers in check. If I had not left, I would have destroyed us all."

Speedy laughed. "Now I think you are being overly dramatic."

She raised a brow at him. "Oh really. Do you know when I first learned how dangerous my powers were? I was four and I was throwing a tantrum because I didn't want to go to bed."

"Everyone does that Rae. You were four, how dangerous could they be?"

"I threw a monk, someone who had cared from me since I was an infant, against the wall with enough force that statues in the room began to fall over. One landed on his brother, smashing the man's legs. I was four when I learned emotions were dangerous. That was when I started to lock them away, to compartmentalize them. I can let them out for short periods of time, but under controlled circumstances."

"But you have shown them with us. I have seen them. And surely you have more control than when you were four."

"I know my reactions with you. I am comfortable and familiar so I am able to do more, but the older I get, the more powerful I become. I still have to watch emotions. I can't let them out to hurt those I care about, I won't let them. That is why I ran. I needed control back. It is why I am distant, why I put up walls. It is not to protect me, it is to protect others."

Raven sank back into the couch with a sigh. She was so tired she could feel it in her bones. All she wanted to do was sleep for a week. She felt raw a scraped from the inside out. And this little sharing session was not helping.

Aqualad saw this and slowly stood up. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. She felt surprised and her eyes locked onto his. "See, I'm ok, and I did something you didn't expect. Maybe you have more control than you give yourself credit for. Thank you fro sharing. Good Night Rae."

The twins followed suit, grabbing her in a hug and zipping off to shower before bed. That left Raven and Speedy. She still felt his confusion and his frustration over not fully understanding, but he would get there. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

"I guess I just don't get how this crowd was different than others."

Raven didn't open her eyes. She knew he would need more. "It isn't, not really. I should have meditated before going. It helps me stay me in crowded situations. The problem was that I could feel emotions and the stronger the emotion the more it is projected, whether the person means to project or not. The strong emotions like hate and jealousy and lust are hard for me to tune out and trust me there was a lot of that tonight. The closer I am the more emotion I pick up so I was being bombarded from all sides and then a lot of people were touching me and it became too much."

She felt his understanding. He slumped onto the couch. "Well I certainly screwed up team night. I just thought you were doing so well that we could try it."

She gave a soft chuckle. "Some days I can and some I can't. If I had meditated beforehand I would have been fine. It was an ok choice, though I must say the music was too loud."

"Yeah, well at least you looked good. Man you certainly caught Ben's eye."

"Hmmm, well he was cute…." This was relaxing, the easy banter rather than the heavy conversation from earlier. They were quiet for a few minutes.

"You know, you never completely the full requirements of the night."

Her eyes popped open at that. "Oh really. I was there, dressed appropriately and I talked and even smiled and no book. I even shared my tidbit." She closed her eyes and leaned back again.

"Yes, but you never danced with me."

Again her eyes flew open. "Yes, and doesn't look like it will happen."

He chuckled and pushed himself off the couch. He smiled at her and reached a hand down. She raised a brow. "You're serious. You really want to dance with me? Here? In the living room?"

"Of course. No one to set you off and you fulfill all requirements."

"But we don't have any music." He rolled his eyes and walked to the stereo. He pressed play and Pink began to play. Again he extended his hand.

"Dance with me."

She placed her hand in his, willing to play his game. She shook her head. "You are nuts."

He pulled her close and wrapped one hand around her waist while one hand continued to hold hers. Her hand went to wrap around his neck. Everywhere she touched him felt warm. It was similar to that of Ben, but rather than scaring her, this made her feel warm and comfortable. She felt very in control, like she was wrapped in a warm security blanket. She stared into his eyes and she felt warmth infuse her entire being. There was just something about this man that could drive her crazy and yet make her feel safe all at the same time. She wasn't sure she really understood it.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she felt a slight pressure from his fingertips on her waist. She took the cue and was soon twirling under his arm only to be pulled back tight. One look at his face told her he was impressed with her ability to follow his lead. The music was fast and upbeat and wonderful for spins and dancing close together. They had only begun to dance when the song ended.

She read the challenge in his eyes and she nodded. The music skipped cds and soon one of her favorite jazz pieces came on. He again began to direct her moves with his fingers and his eyes. She followed every step flawlessly. They seemed to know what the other was thinking and it looked as though they had danced like this together for ages.

She smiled at him. "You seem surprised."

"I am, where did you learn to dance? Most people don't know the classical steps and you are following them perfectly."

"I could say the same about you." He twirled her out and back making her catch her breath as their bodies met again.

"Yes, well when you become the ward of a rich man, they tend to have you attend functions where you need to know how to dance. Now spill."

"Now now, I shared my tidbit already." She enjoyed teasing him but after a few more spins she decided to spill otherwise she would end up dizzy on the floor. "The monks taught me. Even despite who I was, they raised me to be a proper young lady and to them that meant I needed to know how to dance."

"But you were not raised on Earth and these are Earth moves."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes but the people of Azarath are originally from Earth."

He laughed. "Well that makes sense."

Raven shook her head. "Shut up and dance." That only caused him to laugh more.

The music would speed up and slow down and it felt so good. She let go of some of that wall and just enjoyed the dance.

The sound of her communicator startled her out of the pattern. She reached into her pocket to pull out the offending article. She was about to open it when Speedy touched her hand. "It can wait."

"But what if it is an emergency?"

"Then they will call the tower or another titan. Let's finish the dance."

After a moment or two she nodded. She would call them back. At her nod Speedy smiled and grabbed her communicator tossing it to the couch behind him. Neither saw it land, but when it did, it opened to reveal Robin's face.

The music slowed and Speedy pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. He rested his chin on her head and they slowly danced to the music. Robin's face stared at them, his jaw open. He didn't know what to say. They moved in slow circles, hips swaying slightly with eyes closed. After a full minute, Robin couldn't take any more. His face disappeared.

Soon the song ended and Speedy pulled away. "Nothing bad, right Princess?"

"No, nothing bad."

"Good Night Rae. And thanks for the dance. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

"Maybe we can. Night Casanova." Speedy chuckled as he exited the room, turning off the music as he went.

Raven felt happy and peaceful after the dance. She felt so good that she even forgot to grab her communicator, which sat alone on the couch, the screen now dark.

XXXXXXXX

Back at Titans West, Robin didn't know what to think. He had called to see how her evening had gone. He wanted to catch her in civilians because that was all Cy talked about at dinner and he had to admit that he was intrigued. He had been smiling when he had called and then he had seen Speedy with his arms wrapped tight around Rae. They were dancing oh so close and something snapped. After staring dumbly at the image now burned in his brain he had given into impulse and thrown the offending image against the wall of his room.

Now he lay, hands behind his head. He couldn't sleep. All he could picture was Speedy wrapped around Raven and her eyes, closed and her face relaxed. And in the back of his mind a small voice whispered, _Too Late._

XXXXXXXX

Ok, so as I write this I have to admit that it is turning out to be more chemistry between Speedy and Raven than Robin and Raven, but we shall see what happens when they get back to Titans West. I have no control over the characters, I swear. Anyways, hope this nice long installment works. I have to catch up on some other stories and get them caught up so it might be a week or two before the next chapter for this one. Enjoy and thank you to all that have reviewed.


	12. The Morning After

Speedy was in a deep dreamless sleep when the sound of beeping began to penetrate his sleep fogged mind. It grew louder and louder until it finally stopped. His mind began to again drift off into sleep when the sound started a second time. It was then he realized the sound was coming from near his head. Groggily he reached a hand out until it rested upon his buzzing communicator. There was no alarm blaring which would have woken him instantly so with a tired shove he pushed his body to a sitting position on his bed. He quickly grabbed his mask and opened the communicator.

Staring back at him was Cyborg. Speedy gave a yawn and stretched. "Yo Cy, What's up?"

"Where the hell is my girl?" An irritated voice came over the communicator. Speedy's sleepy brain was not yet processing anything fully. It was only now dawning on him that Cyborg didn't just look irritated. He looked pissed.

Despite that, Speedy answered with a very intelligent, "Huh?"

This obviously was not what Cy wanted to hear. He bit out the next sentence emphasizing each word as if talking to a very young child. "Raven…you know…my girl…the one I left there? I want to know where the hell she is and I want to know right now!"

By now Speedy was starting to get dressed and his brain was almost fully awake. "How should I know? I've been asleep. Why would I know where Rae is?"

"Because when I talked to Aqualad he said that you were the last to see her and she wasn't up when he and the twins went out. He also told me it was a bad night for her but wouldn't go into detail. Something about confidentiality of a friend."

By now Speedy saw the worry causing Cyborg's gruff tones. He was still confused and starting to worry just a bit himself. It was not like Raven to sleep in no matter how late they were out. They had midnight calls that lasted hours and she was still up at the crack of dawn with her tea.e also He also told me it was a bad night for her but didn't really tell me about it."

Still it wasn't time to worry….yet. "Why call me? Why not call her?"

"I tried. Six times! That was when I called Aqualad. I even tried calling the main room of the tower. I got nothing. So I repeat. I want to know where my girl is."

Speedy gave a quick nod of his head. Something was not right. It was very unlike Raven to sleep in and even more unlike her to not answer a call. He frowned at Cy. "I'll go look for her and call you back." Cyborg gave a curt nod and ended the call. By now he was fully awake and dressed. There was no reason to panic and yet a tiny voice was tickling the back of his mind. With a determined air the young hero went in search of his temporary leader.

First he tried the main room and the kitchen. He did find the open communicator sitting on the couch which did nothing to relieve the tiny voice but did explain why she was not answering her communicator. When the search of these rooms proved fruitless he moved to the roof and the outside perimeter of the tower. Next he checked the gym, the library, and finally the med lab. The tiny voice had now magnified and Speedy was almost frantic. The last place to look was Raven's room. She had not been staying there much as of late. Part of the team leader and training she had in place required that she was as available as possible. If she was awake, she was out of her room. The team knew from talks with Cyborg that this was unusual for Raven and thus they respected the privacy of her room even more.

Very rarely did any of the titans go to her room. If a call came in, she was the first to the main room. She was the first up and almost the last one down every night. She did seek out her privacy, but it was always somewhere she could be found quickly. She would meditate on the roof or in the main room when everyone had gone to do other things. She developed training schedules and filled out paperwork in the kitchen. She sat quietly and read books while the others talked and played. She helped cook and clean, but very rarely did they ever find her in her room. Because of that, they were very respectful of her time in her room. In fact, the only time any of them had been in her room was to help set it up.

This was the last place Speedy could think to look. He began to bang on the door calling out, "Rae…Hey Raven. Are you in there?" Much to his surprise the door was engulfed in a black aura and swooshed open. There sat Raven with large sleepy eyes and a slightly bemused look on her face. Speedy was not sure which emotion he felt more strongly, irritation that she was in her room the entire time or relief that she was safe in her room the entire time. He chose to go with relief after looking at her sleepy eyes.

This was not the Raven the team had seen very often. Last night she had been open…eventually, and emotionally drained. When she had finally taken his hand to dance Speedy's heart had skipped a beat. He had not thought she would really dance with him and he certainly had not expected her to be so good. Now here she was, blinking at him with her hair in tangles. Her pajamas were rumbled and curled next to her lay a large stuffed chicken.

In a very unRavenlike gesture she raised her hand to rub sleep from her eyes. It was in fact such a childlike gesture that Speedy felt all irritation melt away. He smiled at her softly as Raven stifled a yawn. "What is it Speedy?"

He tossed her communicator at her watching her catch it effortlessly. Even sleepy as she was her reflexes were very much intact. "You left this on the couch and your big brother has been searching high and low for you. Called me demanding to know where you were because he couldn't get a hold of you. You probably want to call him asap."

Raven's eyes widened. "Crap." Within seconds her communicator was open and she was calling Cyborg. Speedy grinned as he crossed his arms and leaned back on the doorway. This was going to be an interesting call and he was not going to miss it if he could help it. Before Cyborg had even picked up however, Raven seemed to realize that he was still there. He felt her power give him a light push and the door slammed in his face.

With an indignant shout Speedy stared at the door. "Hey, you could have just asked me to leave." When she didn't answer he began to pound on the door. "Hey, Raven! Raven…answer me! Is this any way to treat your friends?" But the door remained shut. He tried listening to the door but heard nothing. After a few minutes he gave up and headed for the kitchen to start lunch, but he was grinning. She was back to the Raven they all knew and loved.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven was woken to the sounds of someone banging on her door. It took just a moment to realize that it was Speedy and the emotions she was feeling were ones of slight panic. Even half asleep she knew he was starting to get frantic. As the door slammed open she propped herself up on one arm and rubbed sleep from her eyes. Her brain was slow to wake up this morning. The emotional drainage had also drained all energy from her as well. She had made a conscious decision to sleep in knowing that her team could get a hold of her on her communicator. Raven ran her hand up and over her hair trying to smooth its appearance. "What is it Speedy?"

As she became fully awake Raven felt Speedy's emotion change to one that was calmer. He threw something in her direction and she caught it on reflex. It was her communicator. With a soft smile Speedy spoke. "You left this on the couch and your big brother has been searching high and low for you. Called me demanding to know where you were because he couldn't get a hold of you. You probably want to call him asap."

That was enough to wake her fully. She sat up in bed. "Crap." She had opened the communicator and was calling Cy when she realized that Speedy now rested comfortably leaning against her doorway. He had a smirk on his face waiting to listen in on the conversation.

It was then it dawned on her that she was not in her usual state of mind. They never saw her sleepy with her hair a mess and cuddling next to her chicken, Arnold. A faint blush began to bloom on her cheeks. Before Speedy could see her embarrassment she flung him outside and slammed the door. Outside she could hear him yelling but she ignored it all. With a small smirk she turned to face a very irate Cyborg.

"Just where the hell have you been? I have been worried sick. And why weren't you picking up your communicator? Honestly Rae, I was ready to drive over there and find you myself. Well…." As he took a breath Raven quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Are you done?"

That was the wrong thing to say as Cy began to rant anew. After a few minutes he finally calmed down and looked again at Raven. "So why didn't you answer my calls?"

Raven shrugged. "My communicator was on the couch."

When it became apparent that she was not going to offer any more information than that Cyborg pressed her. "Why was it on the couch?"

"Because Speedy threw it there and I forgot about it."

Now he was just confused. "Why would Speedy throw your communicator?"

"Because we were finishing a conversation and he didn't want the call I was getting to interrupt that conversation."

All of this was said with her usual deadpan expression. Cyborg had been on the receiving end of this expression many times and he found it extremely irritating when he was trying to get information about where his little sister had disappeared to for the last few hours. She was never one to willingly offer up information. It all had to be extracted by a deft hand or as a set of rules like with their questions game. It was just part of the rules that she had to share information and so she did. Even then it was sometimes a tricky operation to extract the desired information. It was something Cyborg was getting better and better at but he was by no means an expert yet. With a huff he moved onto more direct questioning. It seemed that was the only way to get her to answer questions sometimes.

"So was it a conversation about your little team night last night?"

"Yes."

"And do you want to elaborate on that conversation?"

"No."

Cyborg gave a small growl. "Then do you want to explain the issues you had last night?"

Again Raven shrugged. "Not particularly."

"Will you?"

"I guess."

Cyborg waited a few moments for Raven to continue the conversation, but she remained silent watching him with unblinking eyes. He narrowed his eyes. "You can start any time Rae."

She gave him a small grin. "I know, but I wanted to see how long you would wait me out. Not very long."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. After a few more moments he began to laugh and all the tension he had been feeling seemed to melt away. "Alright, alright, I get the idea. I will try to calm down and loosen up."

"Thank you."

"It doesn't mean you get out of explaining. Now spill."

"Nothing really to it. We went to a club. I hadn't meditated and I couldn't handle the people so I left in the quickest way possible. The boys found me. The were confused and angry. We talked and went to bed. End of story."

"Is that it?"

"Basically."

It was Cyborg's turn to sigh. "The way Aqualad was talking it was a major event."

"Not really. My guess is he wanted you to hear the information from me since I told my team. He likes to keep confidentiality going that way. He takes it very seriously."

Cy nodded at her and then he grinned. "So what are you doing still in bed?"

"Sleeping in. It was a long night."

"Yeah, the bed head is cute." Cyborg chuckled at her.

With a sniff Raven tossed her hair a bit. It was getting longer and she was now able to easily tuck the offending strands behind her ears. "You're just jealous I have hair."

"Har har Rae."

It was finally time that Raven looked at her clock. It was 11 in the morning. If Cy had been up for at least an hour looking for her then he must have been up by 7 am at least his time. That was odd for a Saturday. It was his favorite sleep in day. She looked at the smiling titan. "Just what are you doing up so early?"

Cyborg scowled. "Our fearless leader woke us up at 5 this morning to work on drills and training."

Raven raised both brows at that news. "Did you have a big defeat this week?"

"That's the thing, we have been really at the top of our game this week. Everyone has put in extra practice and really worked on teamwork and everyone we have come up against we have defeated in the end. I don't know what's going on with him."

"Odd. He usually only pulls that when we have a big defeat. Is there something else going on?"

Cyborg scratched his head. "Nooooo, not that I can think of. In fact he was in a really good mood after we hung up with you last night. Did you talk to him later that night?"

"No, but that could have been the call I got on my communicator when Speedy and I were dan…talking."

That caught Cy's attention. "When you were what Rae?"

"Talking." If Cy had not known her he would have believed that he had heard things, but Raven was blushing ever so slightly. He had to squint to see the color gracing her cheeks but it was there.

"Rae, what were you and Speedy doing?"

"None of your business."

"Wanna bet? I am making it my business. Now what were you two doing?"

"Talking."

"Rae, we both know you are lying to me. Now I want to know what you were doing or do I have to be persuasive?" Raven saw the glint in his eye and she knew what it meant. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"You wouldn't dare."

With a smile Cyborg began to sing. "You…….Are…….My….."

"Don't do it Cy…." but the threat fell on deaf ears as Cyborg began to belt out a tune.

"Sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray."

Raven tried to cover her ears. "Make it stop…."

"You can make it stop Rae, just tell me what you were doing…."

She shook her head. Cy gave an evil smile. "What was that? Sing louder?" The volume increased tenfold. "You never know dear, how much I love you so please don't take my sunshine away. Again…. You are my sunshine…"

"I will hang up this phone"

"And then I will be forced to hack the system and broadcast myself onto every communicator I can think of. Soon everyone will know this is your song and they will be happy to join me in singing it."

"You wouldn't!" Raven was horrified at the thought of Beast Boy and Speedy having that kind of information. They would never let her live it down.

One look told her that he had won this round. With a defeated slump of her shoulders and a scowl Raven mumbled into the communicator. "We were dancing."

"What was that?"

Raven looked him in the eyes and squared her shoulders ready for the teasing to begin. "We were dancing." Her mask was back in place as she noted his shocked expression. She sighed and elaborated. "It was one of the night's rules. I had to dance at least once and since I had to phase out before I did so Speedy made me hold up my end of the team night. We were dancing so I didn't answer my com."

Instead of laughter she heard a whistle. "No wonder Rob has been so steamed today."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean first getting blown off because you were 'talking' to Speedy and next to find out you were dancing with him. No wonder Boy Wonder is trying to work out some issues. I think it is finally dawning on the oblivious one."

Raven's scowl deepened. "You are not still on that kick are you? I will repeat that Robin is not interested in me. Not in that way."

"And I repeat that some guys don't know what they have until it is gone. We see it over here with you gone. He gets into little moods all the time that seem to disappear after you two talk. He still leaves out tea things for you in the morning waiting. He constantly mumbles to himself that you would be a big help during this fight or that one. Face it, he misses you."

"And I miss all of you, but that does not mean he is pining after me as you seem to believe." Before he could begin the conversation again, Raven gave him a look. It was the look that told him to back off. She had no energy for this very long conversation. Besides, she had thought she had finally gotten a hold of these emotions that Robin seemed to evoke. Apparently she was wrong.

She sighed. "Look I have to meditate. I will talk to you all later."

Cyborg gave her a sad smile. "Ok Sunshine. Later then."

As Raven signed off she missed his closing remarks. "If only you could see what we are all starting to." He sighed and left to get some relaxation in before their irate leader started the next round.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok I am so sorry I have not been writing. Between school and two jobs I have no time for anything anymore. I know it isn't much of an excuse but it explains where I have been. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review. To those of you who have sent messages, I am so sorry I have not responded. I feel like all I have time for is work and sleep. I do know how this will end and I think you will like it. It is just a matter of actually getting the time to write it. Hope this will tide you over until the next one. Again thanks to all the readers. I am glad you have enjoyed this story. I am always open to suggestions and ideas and if I do not respond right away please forgive me but work and school are kicking my butt at the moment. Until next chapter….


	13. Cranky Birds

The next few weeks were tense and yet Raven could not understand why. She had called Robin soon after talking to Cyborg but he hadn't picked up. That was in itself odd, but he could very well be busy and the conversation may not have been important. With a shrug she had gone on with her day.

Over the next week she began to worry. It was unlike Robin to ignore his communicator. Even when she was able to reach him, it always seemed that he had something else he had to do. She barely got a hello out of him before he was signing off. She knew something was wrong, something was off. She felt it very faintly through the connection she held with Robin, and yet she did not know how to identify the problem. It was causing her frustrations to no end.

Added to this was the fact that she had to call the kids and tell them they had to postpone their visit for the holidays. Long before her move to Titans East, Raven and the team had invited Melvin and the other children to the West Tower for the holidays. With everything going on Raven had forgotten. It wasn't that she didn't trust her team to watch the kids, not really. It was more the fact that she knew how to work with them best and how to keep the discipline in check with the fun. They responded best to her. And if she was really honest with herself, she was possessive of the small crew. Those were her kids and she would be damned if her team got to spend the holidays with them if she could not be there. That phone call had been the worst and put Raven in a foul mood. To hear the disappointment and the understanding had been heart wrenching. Raven had ended the call by promising them an extended Christmas when she was back at Titans West. All in all, the week had been draining and Raven needed a little pick me up. A knock came on her door and Raven gave an irritated sigh. It looked like she would need to wait. Sometimes being the leader was a real pain.

She was already extremely irritated when she opened her door to reveal Speedy's smiling face. "Hey Rae."

Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that Speedy had just called her by her name. Normally she would have been confused at the seriousness of the normally comedic Titan, but today she was just too tired. "Shouldn't you be out somewhere?" Raven leaned against the door and crossed her arms.

To a casual observer she would have looked slightly irritated and a little bored. Speedy was hardly a casual observer. He had spent months trying to figure out this enigma before him. He had been mapping emotions, moods, and looks all in an attempt to understand this woman. There was something about her, something strong and yet completely vulnerable at the same time and Speedy felt the need to protect that at any cost.

He had noticed the tension and strain around her mouth the last few days. On others he would not be so concerned, but with Raven it was different. This was someone who spent her life trying, and succeeding, to control her emotions and reactions. When she actually showed the emotions, even a slight change, it was a serious thing and Speedy had decided that he could not stand to see that tension any more. He leaned back with his hands in his back pockets and smiled.

"I am exactly where I should be."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Cheesy pick up lines don't work with me Casanova. What do you want?"

Speedy placed his hands on his heart. "You wound me Princess."

There was no comment from Raven just a raised eyebrow to tell him to get on with it. Speedy grinned and put his hands down. "And that line isn't cheesy. Do you know how many dates I have gotten with it?"

"I don't think I want to. Now get to the point."

"Hey can't a friend want to spend some time with another friend."

Raven cast him a skeptical look. "Of course. But you have never wanted to before."

Speedy smiled at her. "Doesn't mean I don't like your company, or that I'm not willing to try. I mean we get along in the group so conceivably we would get along on our own. What do you say?" His face grew serious. "Besides, something is bothering you and you could stand to get out of the tower for a bit."

Raven stared at him, slightly shocked. She had expected the humor and the smile and jokes, but not the honesty. Few were blunt with her. They might know she needed a break but they would go about getting her to agree in subtle ways. Robin was probably the only one to actually call her on her moods, but that was rare. Cy had been known to on occasion but he usually went for the joking method or the subtle approach. The shock was enough to make her pause in her answer. Normally she would have shot it down already, but something about his eyes stopped her.

Speedy saw the hesitation and spoke softly. "I promise, no questions Rae. You can talk if you want, but I won't push. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is to get away from it for awhile."

Had he said anything else, she probably would have said no but there was concern and soft tones, and something in her wanted a friend she could possibly confide in here. Emotions she had been trying to control began to bubble to the surface. Before she could change her mind, Raven nodded her head once and Speedy's face split into a huge grin. As he grabbed her hand she began to doubt her sanity as they headed for the garage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You want me to what?" Raven threw Speedy a disbelieving look.

There stood Speedy holding out a helmet for her. "What? Don't you trust me?"

Raven blinked. "Of course. I just don't trust you on that thing."

Speedy tossed the helmet to her which she caught on instinct. "Come on Rae. I have never crashed, never had any broken bones, and you say you trust me…." Speedy reached out a hand and softly said, "…so trust me."

Raven looked at the extended hand for long moments. Nothing in her face or body betrayed what she was thinking and feeling at that moment. After long minutes ticked by Raven slowly reached out a hand to Speedy. His returning grin lit up his whole face and Raven felt her breath catch just a bit. As she settled on the bike behind him and adjusted the helmet she shook her head trying to clear the feeling. The bike roared to life and Raven instinctually grabbed Speedy. She could feel his laughter and Raven felt herself smile just a bit but she couldn't let Speedy get away with the last word.

"You know that last line was so cheesy."

His voice was faint over the sound of the motor. "Yeah, but it got you on the bike so it worked didn't it."

Before Raven could respond the bike ripped forward and the two were gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At first Raven concentrated on not dying. She would squeeze her eyes shut as Speedy wove through traffic cutting too closely to cars and trucks. The wind rushed over her and again she felt a breathless sensation consume her body. It was that sensation that got her to open her eyes. It was exhilarating. Speedy could feel her relax behind him. Her grip loosened and she began to move fluidly with him through turns.

Before long the two were on their way out of the city. Raven lost track of time as she watched the scenery pass her. In the distance she could see other buildings and such popping up here and there, but this area was bright and clean and park-like. It was… refreshing. Raven could feel her emotions start to reorganize themselves as she relaxed. She had been stressed and meditation had not been easy this week. Her emotions had come closer and closer to the surface. Now, as her body relaxed, she could feel them retreating, back to where they belonged.

Not long after, Speedy slowed the bike. He turned off the main road and soon the sound of traffic and the sight of the city was left behind. Scenery changed from wide and open to more wooded. The road began to include small hills, and as she looked around Speedy's shoulder she could see a small mountain in front of them. It was not like the wilderness surrounding the Western mountains, but it was just as impressive. The hills and mountains were not as rough around the edges. They seemed to roll and connect fluidly. It was amazing.

As they crested a hill Raven gave a small gasp. There was the most beautiful ice blue lake. The sun hit it and made the surface ripple with diamonds. Trails could be seen weaving a pattern around the gem. Speedy slowed to a stop and removed his helmet.

"So what do you think?"

Raven did the same, shaking her hair out before tucking it behind her ears. She looked at him. "This is amazing."

Speedy smiled at the relaxed posture of his friend. "Well, let's not waste the day. Come on." He hung the two helmets off the bike before locking it up near the side of the road. He grabbed her hand and the two headed off towards the lake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hours later the two returned to the bike. Raven was exhausted but at the same time very rejuvenated. Speedy was true to his word and did not try and ask any questions. He had talked, but about the hike, the area, and other mundane topics.

The lake had been surrounded by small trails and Raven was sure they had only hiked a few but it had still taken them hours. She had not walked this much in ages if ever, but it had calmed her more than she was willing to admit. The sun was high on the crisp autumn day. The day was beautiful but also bitingly cold. The sun did little to warm the area, but Raven and Speedy didn't mind. The lake was off the beaten path so it wasn't traveled a lot, but the cold weather was keeping others away. They seemed to be the only two in the area.

Raven turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes. The sun warmed cold cheeks and she felt joy bubble up. She would have stayed like that if not for the hands that pressed a small cup into her own.

She opened her eyes, startled that she had forgotten she was not alone. When she looked down there was a cup of warm tea in her hands. Looking at Speedy she saw that he had laid out a small blanket and a small basket was there as well.

With a confused look she slowly approached the blanket where Speedy now sat. "What is this?"

He smiled as he began to unpack the basket. "Lunch." He replied simply. He was not looking at her directly but she could hear the satisfaction in his voice. It took quite a bit to startle Raven and he had succeeded.

"But where did it come from?"

He shrugged, "The bike."

Raven shook her head as if trying to clear cobwebs. "But I never saw you pack anything."

He grinned then, "Call me an optimist, but I packed before going to your room."

That shook her out of her shock as a single brow rose into the air. "You were that sure I would go?"

Another shrug. "No, but one could hope. Even if you didn't want to, I thought I might. It has been some time since I came here."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer and his sincerity Raven again looked around. "I don't know how you could leave."

Speedy smiled. "I know. I found this place when I first started with the Titans East. It has kind of been my get away spot. My little known secret. No one knows me here, no one cares about the crime rate, no one worries that the next day could be their last. They come here to unwind, to relax, to just…be. I like that." His voice had grown softer and the smile more gentle upon his face.

He looked up to see Raven looking at him as if she had never seen him before. All at once he felt self conscious. He rolled his shoulders trying to dislodge the feeling. After a few more minutes of silence he couldn't take it. "What?"

It was Raven's turn to shrug. She took a seat next to him still cradling her cup. She took a small sip before looking at him. "I don't know. You just don't strike me as the outdoorsy type. You seem so at ease in the city, I would think that this was not something you would enjoy."

That caused Speedy to let out a bark of laughter. "Is that all? Then I guess you wouldn't believe that my Da was a forest ranger before he died, after that I spent some time on a reservation. Most of my childhood was outdoors. I can track things with the best of them and survive in the middle of the forest better than most. It was only later that I moved to the city."

Raven looked at him, her eyes widening just a bit. She again shook her head and then a small, tiny smile graced her face. "Just when I think I know you…you go and surprise me. You are an interesting man Speedy."

He laughed. "You don't know the half of it."

And with that the two friends began to talk about childhoods…well Speedy more so than Raven, but she would occasionally make a comment. She sat and listened to his stories and the two quietly ate lunch in the brisk autumn air by a beautiful lake. Only later would Raven really think about it, but it was the first time she felt she was fully open with a friend without games, or fear, or hesitation. It was only later that she started to realize that after years she was finally starting to control her emotions enough in order to be so. It was a good feeling.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Speedy was not the only one who was concerned about Raven. Back at the tower, Aqualad had decided that he too had a plan. He had tried, subtly, to get Raven to discuss what was bothering her. She had not said much, but he did know that she was upset about The Maulers, though he did not know who that was. He had tried to get more information but the alarm had sounded and Raven was very tight lipped after that.

Aqualad had finally given up and made a new plan. He knew Speedy was concerned but Speedy was working more with the person, not necessarily the problem. Well, he had to admit that Speedy had done more to bring out a fun loving side of Raven that had never been seen before. Something about the two just clicked and no matter how grumpy or upset she was, Speedy could always pull her out of it.

But Aqualad was her friend too, and he was determined to help her, even if she had not yet admitted the problem. That was how he found himself on his communicator talking to Robin and Cyborg.

"Aqualad to Titans West."

His communicator came to life with a picture of Cyborg sitting in the main room of the West Tower. "Hey Aqualad, what's up?"

Cy's hands held a gaming remote and next to him sat Robin who seemed engrossed in a pile of paperwork. Aqualad smiled. "Hi you two. How is life on the West with Bee?"

Cyborg smiled at that. In fact he smiled so widely that Aqualad just chuckled. "That good then I take it."

Robin looked. "Don't mind lover boy over there. What do you need?"

Aqualad raised a brow at the response. Robin was always a to the point kind of guy, but this came out short and irritated. Something Robin strove to never be, at least when greeting friends. At that Cyborg glanced at the young man sitting next to him before looking back at Aqualad with something unknown hiding in those depths. With a low voice dripping condemnation Cyborg addressed Aqualad.

"Don't mind Mr. Stick up his ass, he has been short with everyone this week."

"Excuse me?" Robin turned to glare at his friend.

Cyborg turned to Robin. "You heard me. You have been a royal pain in the ass these last few days."

"I have not."

"Oh yes you have. And I know I am not the only one to notice, I just happen to be the only one willing to tell you to your face."

"Is that so?"

"GUYS!" Aqualad stood before them on the screen with hands upraised trying to stop a fight. The two silenced but still shot each other a glare. He gave a small sigh. "Look I just wanted to know if you had talked to Raven this week."

That had the two turning to face him. "Why?" They asked the question at the same time.

Aqualad shrugged. "I don't know she just seems really off. I mean she has locked herself in her room in the mornings and she isn't interested in joining us for dinner. I mean she comes out to train and when we make her for Team Night. She is closed off from us all and isn't responding to our requests to do anything."

The two gave Aqualad a confused look. Finally Cyborg spoke. "Um yeah, so what's the problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Raven is always like that. So what makes you think there is a problem?"

Aqualad crossed his arms. "I don't know what she was like there, but here she tries to be out with us so she is always available for questions or just to be there. She is only in her room for meditation and sleep. It isn't like her to lock herself away from us."

Cyborg stared at Aqualad wide eyed. "How did you manage that? We have been trying for years to get her to come out of her room more often."

He shrugged. "We asked her."

Robin was frowning. "We do too. All the time but she stays in there all the same."

Cyborg interrupted. "Well she has been getting better but she still spends a lot of her time on her own here."

Again he shrugged. "I think she decided she needed to be out more if she was the leader and on top of that, Speedy doesn't take no for an answer. In the beginning she was hesitant to be out with everyone but now it the norm. She doesn't always talk to us, in fact she reads a lot of the time or just listens, but she is rarely in her room. Now that I think of it, Speedy does a lot to get her to open up. It was him that convinced her to join the Team Nights and I think he got her out of her room today."

Robin huffed and mumbled under his breath. "I bet he did."

At that Cyborg turned to him and raised a brow. He grinned a bit. Robin saw him. "What?" he asked defensively.

Cyborg just grinned wider. "Nothin man, nothing." Cy turned back to Aqualad. "Sorry I haven't talked to her much this week."

Aqualad turned to Robin. "How bout you?"

At that Robin squirmed a little. He was thinking of the calls that he had cut short. He felt just a bit guilty. But every time she called he felt…angry. But not really at her. He was still having a difficult time explaining the emotion to himself, but every time they talked this week he had wanted to pound something. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just a bit but they were really short conversations."

Cyborg glanced his way again and Robin fought the urge to defend the short conversations. It was none of Cys business. He turned his attention back to Aqualad. The Titans East member looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Did she mention anything about the Maulers?"

That got the attention of the two. "No. Why?"

"Well I know she mentioned something about having to call the Maulers about Thanksgiving. I mean she was a little withdrawn before that but she really got cranky then. Even Speedy can't get her to talk about the call."

Robin slapped himself in the head. Of course, Thanksgiving. Cyborg met his eyes and summed it up in one word. "Shit."

"What" asked a very confused Aqualad.

"The Maulers are part of Raven's family. I don't know if you remember them, the kids she was with when we all fought the brotherhood of evil."

"Vaguely."

Cyborg took over explaining. "Well Raven kind of became a…not a parent, more like a much older sister that takes care of them. They are being raised by a group of monks but the kids love Raven. She is their family. We promised them they could come to Titans Tower for Thanksgiving."

Robin continued. "And with the Tower move we forgot all about it. Thanksgiving is next week."

Aqualad's eyes lit up with understanding. "And she had to cancel Thanksgiving."

Cyborg looked at the two others. "And we need to fix it."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, sorry again. I am working full time, going to school, and I am in a play so my free time is non existent. Just a few more chapters and this one will be done and then I will finish off my other stories. After that I have a few more Teen Titans ideas, but I don't want to start any more until I finish the ones I have started. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and stuck with my slow updates. I hope it will be a worthwhile story. Thanks again.


	14. Small Blessings

Raven awoke slowly. She blinked at the shaft of light that was streaming in though her window. As she squinted so noticed that her curtains were not fully closed and the light was filtering through a small opening and hitting her square in the face. With a groan Raven threw her pillow over her head, trying to block out the offending sign of morning. She snuggled deeper into the plush bed and tried to go back to sleep.

It had been a late night. Aqualad had been called home and the Titans had wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Raven was not sure how, but it seemed that the other Titans had discovered her love of this particular holiday. It probably had to do in part with irritation. Under the pillow, she allowed a small smile at the memory.

_Speedy had walked into the common room late one morning with a grin and a CD. _

"_Ok, time for a little festive change around here."_

_Raven had raised a brow at him. Aqualad had grinned at him. "And what change would that be Speedy?"_

"_Simple," he said raising up the CD, "Time for some festive music. Everyone is so quiet and down when Christmas is right around the corner. I thought it would help with the mood in this place."_

_The twins raced to grab the CD and place it in the player. When the music came on they smiled and began to dance around Speedy who was starting to sing and pretend to play air guitar. "Rocking around the Christmas Tree at the Christmas party hop. Mistletoe hung where you can see. Ev'ry couple tries to stop. You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear voices singing 'Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly' Rocking around the Christmas Tree have a happy holiday."_

"_Stop!" With that one word the whole place went quiet as Raven stood by the CD player. _

_The team looked at Raven. The twins slowly walked to her. "¿Cuál es el problema?"_

_It was then that she realized what she had done and a blush began to work its way across her cheeks. She looked away from the group. "Nothing, sorry."_

"_No, es algo." _

_Aqualad joined them. "They are right, it's something." Raven stayed quiet and looked down, slightly embarrassed that she had let her emotions get the best of her._

_Speedy came over and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can trust us not to laugh…..now spill it."_

_Raven sighed and looked up. "You played Christmas songs."_

_Speedy scratched his head…"Well yeah, it is almost Christmas. Do you not like this particular holiday?"_

"_Christmas is just fine. That's not the problem."_

_Aqualad spoke quietly. "Then what is the problem?"_

_Raven could feel herself blush. It was just such a silly thing really, and yet…"You skipped a holiday."_

_Speedy gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"_

_Raven huffed in irritation. She knew she was going to have to explain, had known from the second she shut off the music. "You skipped Thanksgiving."_

"_No I didn't, we haven't had Thanksgiving yet."_

"_I know, but you started playing Christmas music and we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, so it's like you are skipping it."_

_No one said anything. They exchanged a look and before Raven could move an inch, they all hugged her. _

"_Get off." But the threat had not scared them away. _

Under the pillow the smile became a quiet chuckle. She really had some great friends. Since that day they had all worked to get the tower ready for a big Thanksgiving feast. All that was left was to go shopping for food. The boys had cleaned every inch of the tower until it sparkled. The whole place was decorated in fall colors and they had even brought out a large table into the main room. It was covered with brown tablecloth trimmed in red. Orange and red placemats were out with nice white china dishes with gleaming silverware and wine glasses.

The center of the table had some beautiful fall flowers. Fall wreaths and fake leaves decorated banisters and doors. Candles burned giving the scent of cinnamon and such. Outside there was snow on the ground and Raven could not help but smile. They had done anything to improve her mood. And it had worked for the most part.

She was still disappointed about the kids, but her team had tried so hard to make Thanksgiving special for her that she focused on that instead. It had gone a long way to cheering her up as had the calls from her family at Titans West. She wasn't sure what had happened (though part of her suspected her current team had a hand in whatever it was) but she had received calls from all the Titans West members. All of a sudden Robin was not so busy and Cy had time to actually talk to her. Starfire did not call her often, but when the alien did it was usually a long conversation filled with great joy and many many stories. Beast Boy had even tried cracking a joke or two when she had been on with Cy.

Raven sighed and turned over. It was no use, her brain was now awake and her plan to sleep in was soon abandoned. That did not mean she was going to get up however. It was such a warm bed after all. Raven snuggled further into the blankets as her eyes scanned the room. The thin stream of light had intensified creating a warm glow that filled the room.

The room had not been something she would have chosen on her own. She would have stuck to her dark colors and a lower bed. While Raven did not cower at the thought of change, she did not seek it out. After five month however, she had to admit that she liked her new room. It was warm and yet not overly bright. The walls were a warm blue with dark accents around doors and windows. The bed was high and extremely comfortable. It was so very soft with thick covers and fluffy pillows.

Never one for such 'girly' details, Raven had at first disliked the bed, but one night had changed her mind. She was going to miss this feature most of all. The furniture was all light oak brightening the room even more. With a bit of magic the curtains open to reveal the day.

It was cold out and had been snowing heavily for the last few days. It looked as if another fresh storm had moved in last night wiping the landscape clean. There were no signs that anyone had disturbed the peace. Despite the cold, the sun shone brightly causing the water to sparkle and the snow to gleam. It was just so peaceful and calm. Raven grinned and changed her mind. This she would miss the most. It was a spectacular view. The only thing that would make this better would be…

Just then a knock came at her door. Two voices called out in unison, " ¿Raven, usted está despierto?"

Raven sat up and quickly ran a hand through her hair remembering her appearance when Speedy had woken up. After a moment she called out, "Yes, come on in." The door swung open to reveal Mas and Menos with a small tray held between them.

"Tenemos su desayuno y su té sólo el modo que le gusta esto." The twins carefully walked forward to place the tray on her lap. True to their word the tray was filled with a small tea pot, a mug, toast and strawberry jam, and a small bowl of sliced fruit. Two small pots included milk and sugar. The napkin was folded and the silverware gleamed. She noticed three sets of silverware and three napkins as well. There were also two small plates each with toast, bacon, and eggs. She smiled down at the two small heads as she made room on her bed for them.

Mas and Menos had wormed their way into her heart very quickly. She saw them as younger brothers and Raven had a soft spot for those younger than her. Without a word the boys crawled up and they ate their breakfast in silence watching the sun on the water.

Raven smiled as she watch crumbs fall onto her comforter. When she had started this adventure, she would have thrown them out for the mess, but now she enjoyed the company. "So did you make breakfast by yourselves?"

"No, Sr. Speedy hizo el desayuno. Ayudamos unos."

Raven almost choked on her tea. "You mean Speedy is up before noon?"

A small hand patted her back. "¿Están usted OK?"

She coughed a bit to clear the tea. With watering eyes she repiled, "Yes I am fine. Just surprised that he was up. So he made breakfast?"

"Sí. Él nos dijo que podríamos llevarlo para usted. Él dice la Acción de gracias Feliz."

"Well you must thank him for making breakfast and wish him a Happy Thanksgiving for me. And thank you for helping. What did you help with?" Visions of a kitchen on fire worried Raven a bit. She had been teaching them some but had yet to allow them access to the stove by themselves. She would not have worried had it been Aqualad in charge of the cooking, but Speedy would be only too happy to give the twins free rein, if only to see what they would do. Not that Speedy would allow them to be hurt….much.

The twins smiled proudly at her. "Hicimos la tostada y preparamos la bandeja."

Raven relaxed. "Well the toast was very well done and the tray looked beautiful. Thank you. And Happy Thanksgiving to you both." In an uncharacteristic show of emotion, Raven leaned and gave each boy a brief hug. They returned the hug before looking up at her. It was almost as if this was a normal morning ritual between siblings. Raven felt at peace with the young titans. Partly because they always gave her needed space and partly because they would sit quietly during times such as these and just…sit. Yes they were fast and obnoxious, and there were times when they would not sit still, bit they just seemed to know when she needed the quiet and peace and slow pace.

They watched her as she gazed out at the water. A part of her wishing that her family could be whole today (Titans West, Aqualad, and the kids would be missing from the table tonight) and part of her simply grateful that she had such a family around her. One that would clean and decorate, and surprise her with breakfast in bed on her favorite holiday.

"¿Qué ha estado haciendo usted esta mañana?"

The question startled Raven but she didn't show it. "I tried to sleep in, but the day was just to nice. I have been watching the sun and the snow and the water."

The two heads nodded solemnly. Then they grinned. "Amigo, venga el juego con nosotros en la nieve."

Raven looked at them and at the plate of food they had worked so hard to prepare. She thought of the times she had wanted to join her friends and just had not known how. She may have been an empath, but she was by no means a people person. Finally she looked up at the two eager faces. "Alright, but only if Speedy joins us. I want to pelt him with a snowball."

The two laughed before collecting the dishes and racing off. Raven shook her head at the two retreating figures. She looked at the mug in her hands. She had thought this little mug would make her morning perfect. For the second time that day she changed her mind…two little bodies had made her morning perfect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day found the four friends indoors, all dripping wet. Raven and the twins had formed a small alliance earlier and Speedy had not stood a chance. Three against one, and one of those with a protective shield to boot. After much complaining about it not being fair, Raven had finally dropped it in order to get Speedy to stop whining. Not that she had stopped using her powers to throw the snowballs. She figured if the twins were using their speed, she could at least use her powers. It wasn't her fault that Speedy had come unprepared for a double attack.

There had been laughter and shouts and mock anger from the boys and even a few smirks from Raven as the war continued. She had never been in a real snowball fight. Previous years she had opted out, the Titans simply taking her no for an answer and leaving her be. They had come to think of her no as law and had not pushed the matters involved.

This team, Speedy in particular, did not take no for an answer. Unless she could give an explanation as to why she was required to participate. With this rule in place, they found that Raven said no less and less, though the yes was still reluctant much of the time. She had learned that it just wasted her breath to argue with Speedy if she did not have a compelling argument.

And because of that she now found herself covered in slush dripping in a hallway and freezing, and yet she was happy and content and she would have never thought herself capable of such feelings without something blowing up, never mind while she was freezing and soaking wet. They separated all heading off to the showers, and starting to get ready for the rest of the day. Raven still had to get groceries and drop the twins off at a doctors appointment. Lucky for them they had a friend who was a physician and the twins had been hurt in a fight a few weeks ago. They had hit heads pretty hard. The doctor had been booked when it came to a checkup but as a favor he had set up the appointment for this morning. He wasn't really concerned, but he still didn't want to leave any chances. Raven figured she could grab the twins, drop them off, go to the store, and pick them up on her way home to cook dinner. They had the turkey but she needed some other essentials. And there was no way she was trusting Speedy to do it. She had been taught by Cy and she had a very specific way to do things.

And this was the least she could do for friends like these. She wanted to do this for them, and now she finally had the skills to do it. Cy had spent hours upon hours teaching her and now that teaching was about to pay off. Raven was preparing her list as the boys were getting ready to go. Speedy sat at the TV flipping channels. He had offered to go too, but Raven had refused. For once he had taken no for an answer without explanation.

Raven was gathering things together and checking over her lest when she felt a tickle at the base of her neck. She could sense people she knew but she brushed it off. She was starting to know many people around the town. Many she could name, though she rarely held a conversation. She may be working on her social skills, but she was still Raven and Raven did not do people well. It was still uncomfortable for her.

She tried to ignore the tickle but it grew and grew in the back of her mind until there was a knock on the door. The boys did not move so Raven rolled her eyes and went to get the door. As she opened it she stared at three pairs of wide eyes and three happy grins. All at once she was mobbed as the children sang out "Raven!"

Raven was mobbed as she looked in wonder at the three familiar faces. For once her grace and eloquence escaped her. A wide eyed Raven stared as she stammered, "Wha? How? But? You…."

Raven looked up in wonder as Mas, Menos, Speedy, and Aqualad looked down beaming. "Surprise!"

Raven pushed off the floor and found herself sitting on the floor near the door with Melvin still hanging on her neck. In Ravens lap sat Teether and clinging to her back as well as his blankie was Timmy. Finally her voice seemed to work. "But how?" And she looked up at the smiling face of Aqualad. Her normally sharp brain had not yet caught up to her. "And what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home for the holidays." She glared accusingly at the lad.

He grinned apologetically. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we don't really celebrate Thanksgiving…at least not at the same time as you all. And someone needed to pick up the kids."

Her accusatory glare turned to Speedy. "And just how do you all know about the kids?" She opened her empathic power hoping to catch a feeling of guilt. There was none. Her eyes widened. She looked around and raised a brow, "Ok, was it Robin or Cy?"

Teether giggled and pet her head. "Not posed to tell you." The other children covered little mouths and giggled along with the youngest of the group who was still petting Raven's hair. Raven's look of bewilderment dissipated and a small smile emerged.

She looked around at all the faces surrounding her. In a voice so soft it was barely heard she whispered to those above her as she hugged the small children close. "Thank you."

The boys beamed. That was the same as praise shouted from the rooftops from anyone else. Speedy smiled at her as the tender moment passed. He reached a hand out to help her up. The youngest still clung to her front while the second youngest clung to her back. The girl looked up and smiled.

Speedy glanced around. "So you gonna introduce us to your brood?" He vaguely remembered the young children, but he really had only seen them briefly once. Though he remembered something about a fourth figure…maybe…but he didn't really trust the memory, after all he had just gotten over being frozen.

Raven rolled her eyes at him but the tiny smile remained. She signaled to the girl. "This is Melvin, the leader of the group, the monkey on my back is Timmy, and this sticky fingers is Teether." Despite the names Raven had a fond look in her eyes for the young group. She looked at Melvin. "Where's Bobby?"

The girl smiled shyly. "He was scared so he's hiding out front. And he wasn't sure there was room for him." Ah, so there was a fourth. He smiled, proud that he had remembered so well.

Raven strode to the door after placing the two boys on the floor and swung it open. "Come on in Bobby. There's plenty of room, but you can stay hiding if you want." Speedy looked around for anything or anyone. The wind whistled through the door. Raven glanced at the girl who had her arm up in the air, as if holding a hand of someone much taller than herself. "Is he in Melvin.?"

The girl nodded. Raven closed the door and turned to inquisitive eyes. Speedy was first to approach Raven. He spoke in whispered tones just loud enough for the others to hear. "Um, Rae, there's no one there."

Raven smiled and winked at Melvin. "Bobby is Melvin's imaginary friend."

"Oh." Speedy's grin faded slightly. So maybe his memory wasn't that great after all. Just then Raven looked up.

"Oh no! Mas, Menos, we need to leave, go get your stuff." The boys nodded and raced off. Raven looked around already in leader mode. So now she had to get the boys to the doctor…they were already late, and still get groceries, though now she needed some more. Five more mouths at the table than expected. There also needed to be beds made ready. The thought of dragging the kids around the store was not a pleasant thought but it could not be helped.

She looked down at them as Mas and Menos made it back all ready to go. "Ok guys, feel like going on a shopping trip?" This would certainly cut down on her anonymity but oh well. She would deal. The twins might just have to wait for her.

"Mas, Menos, you might just have to wait for me after the doctor since I have extra kids and food to get." The boys nodded as Raven prepared everyone to go. Aqualad spoke up. "Why don't I take the twins to the doctor? That way you don't have to worry about that." Raven looked up and nodded.

"Good idea. That would help. That way I only have to worry about these three monsters."

Aqualad saluted and winked as he herded the twins out. Raven was working on getting coats on. Speedy walked over. "Want help Princess?"

Raven chose to ignore the comment, instead pinning him with a look. "Yes, I need beds and such ready for the kids." Speedy made a face at the chore, but shrugged his shoulders.

"You got it boss."

Raven was already lecturing the kids about discretion and that they were on a schedule if she was going to get dinner out at a decent hour. Speedy stopped, an idea forming. He turned, "Hey Rae, how are you getting to the store?"

She glanced up from her task. "The car, why?"

"But Aqualad took the car with the twins."

She smirked at him, seeing where this was going. "We have more than one car Speedy."

"Yeah, but do we have extra car seats for the kids?"

Raven paused before smacking her head. "Crap."

"Just leave the rugrats here. They can pick the room they want and everything."

Raven was frantically going through ideas in her head. What could she do? She couldn't drive up without them in car seats, at least not the younger ones. She could phase over with them, but that was not exactly keeping a low profile. Finally Speedy's suggestion registered. "No."

"Oh come on Rae. You could be in and out in a few minutes without them."

"Yeah, but that would mean leaving them alone with you."

"Hey, I think I should be insulted."

"You think?"

"Look, I'm great with kids. And besides how much trouble could we get into?" Speedy put on his best innocent look.

Raven raised a brow. Speedy held up his hands laughing, "Nevermind, don't answer that. But really Rae, we will be fine for a bit. Trust me."

Damn, that trust line again. Raven heaved a sigh. She looked down at the kids. "What do you think?"

Melvin smiled. "We'll be ok. You go to the store."

"Ok, fine. But I warn you."

"Yeah yeah, just go already."

With a sense of foreboding Raven went to do the shopping.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Speedy looked at the kids before him. He clapped his hands together and smiled. "So, where do you want to sleep? We need to get the beds together. So three?"

Melvin looked up. "Bobby needs a bed too."

Speedy looked down at wide eyes. How could he say no. "Ok, four beds it is then."

Timmy chimed in, "And I want to be near Raven."

Teether grabbed his hand. "Me too."

With a smile and a nod the small crew was off to make beds.

In no time beds and rooms were ready and now Speedy was at a loss. The tower wasn't exactly set up for kids. All the games were for young adults and with some being younger, he wasn't sure what to do. Which is how he found himself on the couch watching a food show about how to make pumpkin cookies. Which led to the kids talking about wanting to do something to help Raven. Which led to Speedy looking for ingredients to make said cookies, and ultimately chaos began.

XXXXXXXXXX

Raven was back in record time. Luckily she had extra motivation. Nothing extra was purchased and she knew where everything was so she had not been gone more than forty minutes. As the car entered the underground garage, she noticed that the twins and Aqualad were just entering as well. The boys helped grab bags and on up they went.

They could hear laughing coming from the main area of the tower as they entered the hall, but nothing had prepared Raven for what came next. The doors opened and before Raven could get out two words she was hit in the face with a handful of powder.

Everything stopped as the others stared in horror. Speedy quickly tossed his hand behind his back attempting to hide the evidence of flour on his hands.

Raven scanned the room. Every surface was coved in flour. Couches, counters, floors, and walls were coated in the white substance. In the middle of the room stood Speedy in a cooks hat and apron also covered in flour. The children surrounded him all in aprons and hats much too large for their little bodies. They looked like small ghosts. The wide eyes followed her every move gauging her reaction.

Slowly she raised a hand and wiped her face. She scanned each face, still not saying a word. No one moved, no one breathed, and then Raven began to snicker. The snicker grew into a giggle, and the giggle turned into a little laugh.

By now the kids were unfrozen and they looked at each other and they joined in. They started to laugh even louder and soon were rolling on the floor in glee. The boys still stood slack jawed. It was true that Raven was becoming more and more open, but a smile was still a rare treat. It also meant that a laugh was almost unheard of.

Just then the main screen came to life to reveal the faces of the Titans West all shouting "Happy Thanksgiving" only to stop and stare at the scene. At that instant, Bobby seemed to get over his shyness and he popped up next to Speedy, laughing with the kids. Speedy shouted in fright at the appearance of the giant stuffed bear. As his butt hit the floor, powder exploded into a cloud around him. "Who the hell is that?"

Melvin stopped laughing long enough to look at Speedy, her little hands on her hips. "That's Bobby."

He looked up in a daze at the giant creature. "Your imaginary friend?"

"Just cuz he's imaginary doesn't mean he's not real."

At that, Raven began to laugh even harder, holding her stomach trying to quiet herself, and not succeeding. Tears began to stream down her face and pillows, chairs, and books began to raise into the air. By now the shock had worn off for the Titans East and they began to laugh with her. The Titans West were still staring wide eyes. Beast Boy peered at Raven with concern.

"They broke Raven."

Cyborg glared at that. "Well then they better damn well fix her."

It was the first time Raven had lost control with laughter, and in the end it had not caused harm to any, it had not broken anything, it had all been ok. Everyone had cleaned up, Raven had cooked, and it had been one of the best Thanksgivings she could remember. And with the giant screens and communicators, the towers had Thanksgiving together, all eating and talking together. Her whole family was there and that had made all the difference.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Whoo, I updated faster than normal. Sorry I have yet to respond to any reviews. I will answer some questions though. Yes you are noticing some Speedy and Raven. I think Speedy just has the attitude to pull Raven out of her shell. This does not mean it will be a Raven Speedy pairing. (Though I love the pairing) Yes you will see more Rob Rae…soon because she will heading back to Titans West. As for my play, I am in Nunsense. It has been wild. Ok, there is maybe one really long chapter left, maybe two slightly less long chapters. Thank you all for the reviews and support.


	15. Moving Day

Raven was up earlier than normal. She sat in the main room, a mug of hot tea warming slightly chilly hands. As she sat, slowly the sun began to peak over the horizon and Raven reveled in the beauty. The icy water began to glow as the sun shone on its surface. The snow covered town took on a golden aura and Raven felt a peace that she only seemed to find during these early morning hours. No one was up, even the creature were sluggish to move this chilly morning. It was just her and her thoughts, and even those were still. For the moment. She was so relaxed that she didn't even turn around when another mug of tea was placed in front of her.

"Thank you." she said quietly. She had felt Aqualad enter the room, but she did not want to break the moment. In response the young man smiled and sat next to her and turned to watch the scene before them. No words were exchanged for some time. Raven set down the empty mug and curled her hands around the new cup. She did not sip right away, instead she turned to Aqualad with a slightly sad smile.

"I will miss this view. I've grown rather fond of it."

Aqualad took a sip of his coffee. "It is an amazing view. But the West Tower has some amazing views as well."

Raven turned back to the view. She was feeling surprisingly open this morning. "Yes, but its not as relaxing. Jump seems to wake earlier than Steel City. So many people up and about that there is very little relaxation time."

Aqualad nodded in understanding. He looked into his cup. The dark liquid swirled and reflected his sad eyes "We will miss you too. I must say I have been dreading this day."

In a very unRavenlike move, she leaned a head softly on his shoulder. "Me too."

Aqualad leaned his head to rest a moment on her head. The two stayed this way until Raven felt the stirring of other auras in the Tower. With a sigh she sat up. "I guess relaxation is over. I better get breakfast in the oven. Its gonna be a long day."

Aqualad stopped her with a hand on her arm. "I'll take care of breakfast. Take your time today. You have to worry about making sure you are packed and ready to go." And with that he stood and picked up the empty mugs. In the kitchen he found the breakfast rolls that had been prepared last night. As he prepared the oven the twins came whizzing into the kitchen, nearly knocking over breakfast in their rush. This in turn caused Aqualad to begin to berate the two. This caused an argument to ensue and Raven shook her head. The morning routine had truly started.

Instead of stepping in (as she was getting used to doing) Raven stood and wandered from the main room to her own room. The sun warmed her room. This was something that she was getting used to. Despite her tastes for the dark and somewhat macabre, this room also had suited her. It was simple and could not be considered bright. Raven had actually considered performing a room makeover when she got back to the West Tower.

She definitely knew she would need to find a bed similar to this one. She had grown quite accustomed to the plush comfort of her current bed. She crawled up on the dark blue comforter and sat with legs crossed as she surveyed her room.

The curtains were drawn, allowing her a view of the wide expanse of water and sunshine. The light from the sun lit the room and flashed over boxes scattered around. Each was neatly labeled: books, clothing, bathroom, etc. One large box contained wrapped gifts for Christmas which was only a few short weeks away. Soon the room would be packed up and the team would be on their way to California.

Instead of taking one of the Titan vehicles that would get them there in a matter of hours, the team had decided this would be the last time to have a "team night" and so they were traveling over a few days and making a vacation out of the whole adventure. While the Titans East were out visiting their counterparts in the West, Jinx and Kid Flash would be watching the East Tower along with an occasional guest appearance from other honorary Titans.

Raven began to stack boxes near the door so they were ready to be moved later that morning. Near that she set a small duffle bag. This would have everything she would need for the 4 day trip. She even packed a uniform, just in case. Soon the work was done and all that was left were the items there when she had arrived her first day.

As she was glancing one final time at the now empty room, Raven again felt a wave of sadness. She really would miss this Tower and the friends she had made. When this adventure had began, she had only expected to survive life with new friends. She never expected them to pull her out of her shell as they had. They had truly become her family in a way that she had thought only the Titans West could be.

Before her mood could deteriorate more, a small explosion could be heard from the kitchen, followed by strings of expletives in both English and Spanish. Ravens eyes went black and she teleported to the kitchen, ready to clean up yet another breakfast fiasco. She knew she should have made the breakfast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

Meanwhile, the day had stared at Titans West as well. Robin was the first awake as usual, and he was groggily in search of coffee. He had not slept well the night previous and though he would have liked the extra sleep, too many years of early mornings had trained his body that come the sunrise, it was time to awaken.

Besides, they only had a few more days and their team would be together again. It wasn't that he disliked Bee. She was an amazing fighter, but she was used to being the leader, and on more than one occasion she and Robin had butted heads. She was an excellent fighter, and the time was much needed for Cyborg and Bee to figure out their budding relationship, but the team was not the same.

There was a reason Raven had been his second in command. She had read him like no other. One look and she knew what he was feeling and what he needed from her. She didn't follow blindly. If she didn't agree, she let him know and she didn't back down just because he was the leader. She made him explain his reasoning before she would follow orders she was unsure about. And yet she would back him up with the same degree of stubbornness.

Though as this little experiment had gone on, Robin had been forced to look at other aspects of his relationship with the dark empath. Before this he had not realized just how much he had depended on her to help relax him. She was the calm, serene Titan that helped to keep his obsessive tendencies under control. Something about Raven always calmed his mind, made all problems seem solvable. Unfortunately these characteristics were not easily found amongst the young crime fighting sect. In this new team dynamic, no one had a calming effect. Bee and Cy were either fighting or cuddling up and laughing together. Star and BB were endless balls of energy that never seemed to stop. No one had a still bone in their body.

But that was all going to change. In four short days, Raven would be home and everything would be back to normal. At least for awhile. Change was coming. Anyone who looked at Bee and Cy could see that, but at least for awhile, his team would be together again.


	16. Revelations

Yes I am not dead! Though as some have already stated, it was suspected. I'm glad to see that even though the story was quiet (for years) it is still being enjoyed. I started writing this as the chapter that gets Raven home, but it has a mind of its own. I must say, it is much darker than I originally planned. What can I say? This is just the way it came out. Now that I am back, I will be finishing the story in the next few weeks. I already have another one planned, but I wont start it until this one is done or I'll never get this one all out and as some have told me, I will be a dead woman if I don't. So enjoy. Again, it's darker than I planned, but this is just the way it took me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven leaned into Speedy as he maneuvered his bike through the slick winter streets. Had it been a regular motorcycle, Raven wouldn't be caught dead weaving through the streets. However, being a Titan and having access to the latest technology had its advantages. These particular tires were holding onto the road as if it were the sunny, dry streets of Jump. If it weren't for the biting cold of the air around them, Raven wouldn't have even noticed the weather.

As it was, Raven was layered in as many clothes as possible. She had on thermal underwear, fleece lined pants, a lined jacket, gloves, mittens, two hats and a scarf all to keep out the biting cold. And all so Speedy could challenge Robin to a motorcycle race when they finally reached Jump. Oh what she did for her friends.

Speedy hit the gas as they reached another straight patch in the road and Raven leaned in even more, attempting to pull what heat she could from the man in front of her as well as to use him as a wind shield. For not the first time, she wished that she had opted to hitch a ride with Aqualad in the truck. But Speedy had given her those big, sad, puppy dog eyes and she had caved. After all, she would only get to spend so much time with them after this little trip was over.

That was another thing. They had a truck! A moving truck! What in the hell did they need a moving truck for? She only had a few boxes. Yes she knew that she had acquired a few things, like civilian clothes, a few gifts, and pictures and music, but hardly enough to need an entire moving truck! Aqualad had been adamant that they needed it however. And Speedy had backed him up. The two boys had assured her it was for moving back Bee's supplies, but Raven wasn't entirely sure she believed them.

Of course there was nothing she could do in her current situation. She was entirely too busy trying to maintain a proper body temperature. Meanwhile, Aqualad, Mas, and Menos were all snug and dry in a nice warm truck cab. Damn Speedy and his silver tongue. They slowed as a series or hairpin turns came up in front of them and Raven decided that it was more prudent to pay attention to holding on and worry about why they needed a truck later. Thank goodness they would be heading South. The next few days should at least be tolerable weather wise. Until then, Raven concentrated on just keeping warm.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Titans East were rather enjoying their little trip. As Speedy and Raven led the way on Speedy's bike, the other three followed in the truck. They would drive for a few hours, pull off for food and to stretch their legs, and then start up again. After long hours of driving they would pick a random little town and a random hotel and pull in for some much needed rest. Thank goodness they had all had large family style rooms available. The twins and Aqualad took one room, Raven another, and Speedy took the couch. It was easy for everyone to hang out and then easy to separate for bed.

During these rest stops, the friends would pick a movie to fall asleep to, or they would just sit around sharing stories. It was a giant Team Night and as the days passed, Raven knew she would miss these nights just as she would miss these Titans. As much as she complained about these nights, they had helped in bringing her out of her shell. These friends had succeeded in ways that the Raven of old could never have imagined.

However, as they approached their destination, Raven began to wonder how long this new Raven could possibly last. These young men had succeeded in part because they had no preconceived idea of how she should act. She had had a clean slate. But back at Titans West, she would receive looks and confusion over her character change. It had not been a personality overhaul for the average person, but for Raven that's exactly what it was. And where these Titans had become used to this being Raven, the Titans West would not know what to do with her. And Raven was not sure she would be able to maintain this more open Raven without a little push.

With a sigh, Raven tried to shut down this line of thought and just enjoy the moment now. This was their last night before reaching Jump tomorrow. It was their last night as a team, and then everything would go back to the way it had been. Raven shook her head and again returned her attention to Speedy, who was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Yoo-hoo. Earth to Raven. Where did you go?"

Raven raised a brow in Speedy's direction. "Oh I am so sorry that your stories of your many conquests could not maintain my interest. Please continue to talk about yourself in such a way that I might find you irresistible."

The rest of the boys laughed. Speedy however looked slightly offended. "I'll have you know that many a woman would love to be in your shoes."

Raven rested her head on one hand. "Bored?"

Speedy leaned forward with a smile. "Simply in my presence."

"Speedy, I must say that I have never held the women you prefer to keep in your presence in very high esteem." Raven was amazing at this verbal sparring. Because of her training and her ability to keep emotions in check, her bored tone often served to her advantage. It would seem that anything you said could not get an emotional response, which would just get a bigger rise out of her opponent. She did love sparring with Speedy though, because he could win the matches almost as often as she could. He was a worthy adversary.

Aqualad was smiling widely as he looked over at Speedy. He had seen enough of these matches to know which Titan would end up the victor. "I think she won this round. Don't draw out the defeat."

Speedy leaned back in his chair, an easy smile on his face. "I'll give her this round, but only because its our last night." And with those words, a stillness came over the room. As fun as the trip had been, it was still a grim reminder that Raven would be leaving them. They had all missed Bee, but something about this Titan had drawn them together as a team in a way they had never been before.

Raven had to change the mood. This couldn't be how they ended the night. Besides, she needed to forget her upset as well. She tucked away emotion and rolled her eyes at them. She crossed her arms and looked them all over. "Boys, so emotional over a simple statement. And they call girls the overemotional sex."

Speedy, catching on to the mood change, grinned. "I don't think overemotional would ever describe you Rae."

Aqualad chuckled. "I would have to agree. I have never met anyone with the emotional control you have."

The twins glanced at each other, grinned and nodded their heads in agreement.

Raven wasn't sure she was fond of the topic matter, but at least the mood had changed, so she went along with it. "Oh compared to when I first joined the Titans, I am a typical emotional female." Raven tried to choose her words carefully. After all, these Titans did not in fact know how much she had grown emotionally over the last year. It was this ignorance that had allowed them to push her. The Titans West had seen what unchecked emotions could do to her powers, so they took no for an answer fairly easily. Raven had in turn become used to saying no, so while she had been making more of an effort to join activities she still was not being pushed as far as emotional development was going. These Titans had never seen her true power and therefore they pushed her more.

Speedy broke though her thoughts. "You know, you haven't shared any little Raven tidbits in awhile. Let's hear about this 'unemotional' Raven."

Raven raised a brow, "You have got to be kidding."

Before Speedy could respond, Aqualad jumped in. "I know I'd like to hear more about what you were like. We didn't know you before this adventure, so we have nothing to base this growth upon. In fact, trying to picture you as a child is difficult. Children are active and emotional, but according to you, emotion affects your powers. So how could you have even had a childhood?"

ns

Raven looked down at her lap. Now the change of topic had really taken a turn for the worse. This would hardly uplift the mood for the evening. But Raven also felt the determination for information. It was coming off of Speedy in waves. He wasn't going to let this drop. Aqualad was a pursuer of knowledge, so it didn't surprise her that he was interested, however if she asked, he would drop it. The twins just sat and watched her with wide eyes. They were simply waiting on her decision.

It was those looks that pushed Raven to talk. These were her friends, waiting to understand Raven, and she realized that she wanted them to understand her. She wanted them to understand why she had little choice in her personality. It had been determined for her simply based on her power and her destiny.

Raven looked up and stated simply, "I didn't."

Speedy chimed in, "Come on, Rae. Everyone has a childhood. Maybe its not good, but everyone has toys and books, and friends. Even if just imaginary friends. They play, its natural."

Raven shook her head, "Nothing about my birth was natural so why would my childhood be any different?" She didn't wait for an answer. They all seemed to know that if she was interrupted, she may not continue. "I never even knew my own mother, not really. She was just another face. She wasn't allowed to tell me who she was, she could not hug me, or make me feel better if I fell. It wasn't until much later that I knew that she was the woman who had given birth to me, the woman who had made a deal with the Devil."

"She was taken in by the people of Azarath on one condition. They would help her if she gave up all rights to me. All decisions about me and my upbringing were handed over to Azar. She was the only mother I really knew, and as much as I loved her, I hated her too."

"Since the day I was born, I was kept from everyone, including my mother, Arella. Only a small group of monks were trusted enough with my care. They were all highly skilled in controlling their own emotions so as not to interfere with my training. Since the day I could sit up, I was taught to meditate. I did not really understand the concept, but my body was in training to endure long periods of stillness. I was not hugged or comforted if I fell. Any emotional outburst was ignored, or reprimanded. These outbursts were seen as my father's influence. I was not allowed to even see other children until I was about seven or so."

"Everyone knew of my destiny. They feared me. Until then I had been surrounded by people who could control their emotions. They were my teachers, my caregivers. They fed me, clothed me, but many lived in fear of me. Many others pitied my fate. One my seventh birthday, I was allowed to enter the town in the early morning. Later I found out this was simply a test to see if I could control myself when confronted with others emotions. I failed."

Ravens eyes became glassy as she remembered the outing. She had been so excited and yet could not show any emotion for fear that she would be told she could not go. "The children were all laughing and playing with a blue ball. They would throw it high into the air and run after it, all the while screaming with laughter. The ball rolled to me, I picked it up intent on joining the game. It looked fun. As I went to hand the ball to a young girl about my age, she screamed, 'Devil's Daughter'. The scream startled me and the ball exploded. This only caused the children to run in fear. The screaming, the noise, it was all too much. A few windows shattered before I was pulled away by Azar herself."

"Since that day, all my emotions were locked up. I could not afford friends, besides no one wanted to be friends with a Demon child. I hadn't had much of a childhood before that, but that day, my childhood ended."

It was quiet in the room. No one spoke as they all absorbed what she had said. Through Team Night and stories they had learned that Raven's emotions controlled her powers, that she had to be careful around others emotions too. They had learned of her father (though Raven had chosen not to speak of her ordeal. She had not been ready for that much confession.) They had even learned about an accident when she was four, but none had suspected just how difficult and lonely her life had been before the Titans.

Aqualad was the first to speak. He reached out and placed a hand on Raven's knee. "Thank you for sharing that. I know its not easy for you to get personal. Thank you for trusting us."

The other boys nodded their agreement. Mas and Menos both stood up and hugged Raven close. They whispered softly, "Te amamos, Raven."

She hugged them back. She hoped they would understand what she could not yet put into words. She loved them too. After a moment she could sense they did. The hug broke apart and the twins yawned and stretch. Raven smiled, "Off to bed. You guys are tired. And tomorrow will be a busy day, you two get to see Starfire."

The twins grinned like idiots and pretended to swoon. Raven shooed them away and they darted off to get ready for bed. After the twins were tucked in and softly snoring, Raven looked at the two remaining boys. "Ok, what is it?"

"Wha?" Speedy looked startled. He had been in such a state of concentration that he had almost forgotten that Raven was still there. She sat on an overstuffed chair and curled her legs under herself. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are thinking too hard. Now what is it? I didn't tell that story just have you give me a headache with all your thinking."

Instead of the usual grin, Speedy looked quite serious. "How did you do it?" By now, both boys were sitting on opposite ends of the couch quite content to continue the conversation started earlier. Raven feigned ignorance, a part of her hoping the topic would just drop.

"Do what?"

Speedy ran a hand through his hair as he looked at her with wide eyes. "Turn them off. Your emotions. I mean, I knew you were an amazing fighter and that you are a hard emotional nut to crack, but turning off your emotions? How can you do that? Everyone feels something… anything… But I believe you when you say that you locked them up, but how?"

It was then that she realized that Speedy was interested, but not out of morbid curiosity. He was…. Impressed. It was an emotion she had not expected. She had expected pity, maybe fear, and possibly sadness. She had been prepared for those feelings, but this was new. Maybe that was why she responded without thinking.

"That's easy. Its easy to separate your emotions when you have been meditating for as many years as I. Not to mention the whole half demon child thing I have going for me."

Speedy chuckled. "Yeah, but how?"

She shrugged, "Just what I said, I locked them away. I went into my own mind and took each emotion and locked them away."

Speedy looked confused, "You went where? You talk as if your emotions were people. They aren't, they are part of you."

"Yes, but I manifested them into a human form. It was the easiest way for my young mind to understand the process. I imagined my mind as another world. There I was able to dissect parts of my personality, my emotions if you will. From there, I manifested each part into a human form. Essentially, a 'happy' me, a 'sad' me, a 'brave' me… etc etc. The pieces are still there, in my mind, but when I need more control it is a lot like locking them away so I can maintain control. They are still there, so there is some influence however. That is why I must meditate every day. It helps keep me in control and keeps the emotions from returning to me."

"Wait, you mean there are multiple Ravens?" Aqualad look intrigued at this idea. She turned to him as Speedy once again went quiet with concentration.

"In a way, yes. The best way I can explain it is that I have created a 'personality disorder'. It is like having multiple personalities, with each 'person' being a different emotion. I can tap into them when I need a power boost and lock them away when I need control."

Aqualad continued with a thoughtful expression, "So you allow different personalities to take control as needed. But isn't that dangerous? Don't they threaten to take over as the dominant personality?"

"They can. Some are easier to control than others. It is why I must be very careful to maintain control and not give them too much power. I tap into them, but it feels like the emotions are diluted. I know I feel the emotion, but I do so less than a normal person. It helps me maintain control. And for the love of… Speedy STOP IT!" Raven whipped her head around.

The archer looked up startled again. Raven was starting to get irritated. "I told you, all that hard thinking is giving me a headache. Out with it."

He was quiet for a moment and then looked her right in the eyes. "You said dissected… you mean like you cut a part of yourself out?"

Raven merely nodded.

"Didn't that hurt?"

At that Raven grinned, "I said it was easy for me… not that it didn't hurt."

Speedy shook his head and then stopped. He looked at Raven again…. "Wait, and you said there are more Ravens…Each with a different personality?"

"Yes…."

Speedy started to chuckle.

Raven glared in his direction, "What?"

"I'm just picturing a 'Happy' Raven. I think I'd like to meet her."

Raven relaxed, "No you don't. She's worse than Starfire on a sugar rush."

And with that, the serious mood dissolved into laughter as the image of 'Happy' Raven filled their heads. Talk turned to other topics, and Raven moved over to the couch in between the two boys. They found a movie on that everyone could agree on and the friends fell into comfortable silence. Raven yawned and snuggled deeper into the couch. Speedy shifted and Raven felt a blanket drape over her body. An arm was thrown over her shoulders and Raven stiffened only a moment before leaning into the body of Speedy. As she grew more comfortable with the unusual closeness, Raven began to relax her body. Soon eyes closed, breathing slowed, and she fell into a deep slumber still curled up with Speedy holding her close to his side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

See what I mean? It went a little dark there for awhile. Oh well, what can you do? Not really sure how I feel about this chapter, but on the plus side I got a conversation in I wasn't expecting. Yay me! Ok, next chapter is gonna take a few days. I have a lot to plan out because Raven is gonna see Robin for the first time in months! Lets watch some sparks fly! Thank again to all the reviews. Let me know what you think about this chap… Like I said, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet myself, so be honest. Thanks again and expect more in a few days.


	17. Homecoming

Ugh, ok that took entirely too long to update. Every time I would write something, Raven would get highly uncooperative with me. Every time I would write something, she would throw a fit about sappy or emotional it made her sound. It took a lot of coaxing to get her to agree to what I did write. I'm so sorry everyone. Please continue to bug me when I have a pause like that. Know I really was working on it as promised, I just had a fight or two to contend with.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven awoke early the next morning feeling rather warm though not quite fully comfortable. In fact she was feeling rather sore. She was reaching a hand up to rub at the crick in her neck when she became very aware of the presence surrounding her. There was a warm weight upon her shoulders and a gently breath on the top of her head. Raven froze. Her brain, which had been in a sleepy haze, was shocked awake with the realization that she was not alone.

The memories of the previous night came rushing back. She and Speedy, the late night, and the cuddling on the couch. Her brain almost shut down at the last memory. Raven did not cuddle. It involved too much closeness of bodies to be comfortable for her. And yet there was no other way to describe the position she found herself in.

She was now hyper aware of the person she found herself so close to. He was not clinging to her, merely had an arm draped over her shoulders. They were still in a semi reclined position on the couch with legs extended and propped up on the coffee table on pillows. His body was leaning into the crook of the couch arm and Raven was leaning up against him.

At the sound of Speedy's steady breathing, Raven relaxed her body slightly. It was actually quite nice despite the awkward sleeping position. As that thought entered her head, Raven stiffened again. She had to get out from his arm, she needed space. This was not anything she could do and her head was getting cloudy with emotion. She needed to get away and clear her head and her thoughts but she needed to do so without waking Speedy. He would make jokes or want to talk about the sleeping arrangements and Raven was not emotionally ready for that little conversation. She took a slow breath and calmed herself. As quietly and slowly as possible she phased through the couch and up to the floor.

Raven held her breath as she turned to look at the still sleeping Speedy. He shifted positions in his sleep as the warmth of her body dissipated. With a wave she covered him more fully with the blanket and he settled in again. It was only then that Raven allowed herself to breath and she moved quickly to the bathroom for some much needed alone time.

As the hot water streamed down her back and face, Raven allowed her brain to finally start processing what had happened in the last few hours. What had she been thinking? She could not get that close to someone, no matter how comfortable their friendship was. To become that close meant letting down walls that she could not let down.

Despite what Cyborg thought, this experiment was not about one day being able to be with Robin. This was working on emotionally being able to handle being near him. The time away had not diminished the crush. She had been able to push the thought of him away, let's face it, she had years of training pushing down thoughts and emotions. That did not mean he was forgotten. She had long ago come to terms with the fact that she would watch Robin and Starfire as they grew into their romance. It didn't make it easy to deal with the emotions that came along with it. She had worked so hard to increase her ability to deal with emotions without always just locking them up. The Titans East had done so much to help her with this. Raven was confident that she could stand by and simply watch Robin from afar. She had no expectations of love or romance. She merely wanted to know that she could control her emotions without always locking them up. Otherwise, one day she would explode with unchecked emotions because she had no other way to work with them and through them.

But this morning, this 'cuddling' had given her something to think about. Raven was not oblivious to the fact that Speedy and she had an attraction to each other. He was a well developed young man with attractive features and they had spent many outings together. In fat, he and Robin shared many qualities even though they had very differing personalities. It was no wonder she was attracted to him. Not that it was an option either had thought to pursue. It was physical attraction with a mutual respect for each other. At least that was all Raven would ever let the relationship be.

The fact always remained that Raven was not looking for any type of romantic attachment to anyone. It was too much emotion and too dangerous for her. Laughter and anger were controlled much more easily than love because with love came hurt and jealously in the right situation and those could unleash some very volatile powers. Never mind the physical side. She still could not handle being touched for long periods of time and that was something involved in a real romantic relationship. No, Raven would always be on the sidelines with this.

And yet she had spent a night with someone she was attracted to. She had been held all night and nothing had happened. In a vulnerable state, such as sleep, Raven was much more likely to pick up on emotions and react to them. And while she knew there would never be a chance with Robin, he had Starfire after all, this now opened the possibility that she might be able to one day have a romantic relationship. Before Raven had a chance to examine whether or not this was something she would want the water finally reached a level of cold she could no longer take. As she dried off she heard the boys stirring next door. If she was to get her morning meditation in before the ruckus of morning began she would have to start now. She would have to examine this new development later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The morning had run as smoothly as it could. There had been the usual minor arguments around the table, but soon they were all on the road again. Within hours they would be back in Jump City and Raven would be home.

Raven clung to Speedy as he zipped through traffic. They had left the others back and it felt good to just move and not think. She leaned her helmeted forehead on Speedy's back and she felt a gentle spike of emotion. Before her morning realization, this would not have caused her to move. It was just emotion that could not be acted upon and so she would have ignored it. But now, it shocked her. This emotion could lead to something. Raven immediately sat straight up.

She was by no means ready for cuddling every day or sappy things like moonlit nights, or something as emotional and intimate as sex, but the fact that she had shared an intimate and vulnerable moment with someone opened new doors. And the fact remained that she was attracted to Speedy. They enjoyed many activities together and were able to talk or sit quietly. Not in the same way she did with Robin, but they were still comfortable silences. They were not necessarily long silences, Speedy was entirely too active for that, but he seemed to know when she needed that moment of peace without words.

In fact, they worked together well. They had minor disagreements, but no major fights. They enjoyed each others company though not always each others activities. And there was attraction. One of the bonuses of being an empath was that she could usually pick up on these things easily. Sometimes the emotions got mixed up if there were a lot of them and other times she had a difficult time discerning her emotions from others, but she usually did not need to wonder what the other was feeling. Of course she tried not to go digging. She felt it was a violation of a friends trust to go looking for the emotions. If they wanted to talk about how they were feeling then she felt it was ok, but until then she worked only on the emotions they were projecting loudly.

These thoughts had caused her to loosen her grip around Speedy's waist and as they headed for some curves in the road, Speedy reached back and pulled her closer. Raven tried to take a deep breath as her thoughts began to stray to the comfortable feeling developing as she held on. This possibility that she could act on attraction both scared her and exhilarated her. It was also starting to give her a headache. And with that, Raven did what Raven was able to do better than anyone else. She shut every thought and every emotion behind locked doors in her mind. She stopped thinking about that problem, at least for a moment and she leaned back into Speedy feeling the wind whipping around her. Something told her the next few days would involve more meditation than usual.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

Raven and Speedy entered Jump City well ahead of the other three. Of course they had the advantage of being able to weave in and out of cars and the speed of his motorcycle. They had pulled into Jump and decided to grab a quick bite to eat while they waited for the others. Rather than arrive separately the team had arranged that if Speedy and Raven reached Jump first, they would wait so the entire team could arrive together. It was, after all, the first time they had really seen Bee in months and they missed her terribly.

Everyone was dressed in civilian clothes to be a bit more discrete during their travels and Raven and Speedy were not bothered as they waited for the others. Raven sat quietly, sipping on hot tea and picking at her salad. With all the brain work today, she should be ravenous. It was quite the opposite though. She kept glancing up at Speedy and thinking what if questions. As hard as she tried, the thoughts kept popping up.

Speedy finally put down the sandwich he was halfway through eating. He took a sip of coffee and looked at Raven. "OK, what gives?"

Raven set down her tea, trying to be as casual as possible. This was one of the traits that was slightly annoying about Speedy. He wasn't as observant as Robin, but he was still too observant for Raven at times. He picked up on her moods better than most. In fact, when it came down to it, he was more adept at picking up on emotions and understanding them than she or Robin were. The great boy detective learned many things from his mentor and it was not just fighting styles. As observant as he was, he was still oblivious to the emotional side of life.

Her hands still cradling the tea mug, Raven gave Speedy a cool look from beneath half lidded eyes. "Excuse me?"

Speedy leaned forward and grabbed a fry. Before popping it into his mouth he smirked, "Why so quiet?"

With a slight eye roll Raven picked up her tea once again, "I'm always quiet."

At that Speedy chuckled, biting into another fry. "Yes, you are. But not this quiet. This is thinking quiet. So I repeat, what gives? Don't tell me the great Raven is nervous."

The look she shot over her cup would have caused a lesser man to quake. Speedy merely smiled. "Hardly. What is there to be nervous about?"

Speedy shrugged, "Dunno. But you never were one to follow girlish trends." At that Raven gave him a confused look. Speedy leaned back and gestured to her plate with his coffee cup. "You are just picking at your food. You may be a light eater, but this is ridiculous. Added to the fact that you were tense on the ride over today I assumed it must be nerves."

Raven covered her surprise at the last statement. She leaned back as well, trying to convey a casualness. With anyone else, she would have had them fooled. Not Speedy though. "Just a lot on my mind I guess." She hoped that this half truth would be enough to steer the conversation away. It was wishful thinking.

"About?"

Raven tensed slightly. "Nothing that concerns you." She saw the hurt flash across his green eyes and before she could say something to cover her tones Speedy spoke.

"Ouch. Sorry, I just figured we were good enough friends that I could help. You seem not yourself and I thought we had come a long way. Friends help each other Rae, even if its just a listening ear."

Raven relaxed and gave Speedy a soft look. She reached out and touched his hand on the table. "I know and we are. I didn't mean to snap. It really isn't something that you need to be concerned about. And when I am ready to talk about it, you will be the first I come to. Until then…"

Speedy turned his hand over and gripped hers tightly. His eyes lost some of the hurt but not the concern. "OK, I'll accept that, for now. I guess we have all been a little quiet and thoughtful lately. I'm really gonna miss having you around Rae."

Raven felt the shift in mood and relaxed. She released Speedy's hand and smiled softly, if not a little sadly. "I will miss you too. All of you." She wanted to continue but didn't know what she could say that wouldn't feel awkward coming from her lips. Speedy deemed to understand and grabbed her hand once more. After a quick squeeze, he reached forward with a fork and took a large bite of her salad.

"Hey!" she slapped at his hand lightly.

Through a mouthful of salad he laughed, "Well you weren't eating any. And it looked good."

With that, Raven gave a mock glare and picked up her fork. She speared her salad and began to actually eat it. She was suddenly very hungry, and the salad was delicious. The two friends quietly bantered back and forth as they ate. They ordered a few more plates of food and just as those arrived, the other Titans entered. The banter became just a bit louder and they were all feeling pretty good as they paid and headed to their vehicles. Just as Raven was climbing aboard, their communicators began to beep in their pockets. The communicators were back in range of the Titans Tower distress beacon. Before anyone could say anything, Raven announced, "Trouble."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

After a quick change, the Titans left the moving van at the restaurant and Speedy jumped on his bike, with Aqualad behind him. Mas y Menos joined hands and all followed as Raven flew towards the call. She didn't need details. She merely tapped into the bond she and Robin shared and she followed it to where he would be.

In a different situation, Raven would have been slightly nervous about opening the bond she shared with Robin. It not only gave her access to him, but it gave him access to her. To her emotions and her experiences. He had never tried, she would have known that, but the more often the bond was consciously used, the more Robin would understand how to use it in the reverse.

But for this situation, she ran on auto pilot. She was in fighting mode, as were the others on the team. In no time they had rounded a building and saw the scene of chaos in front of them. There was Plasmus in all his gooey glory. The other five Titans were already well into the battle as Raven stopped to survey the situation.

Robin was performing his usual aerial acrobatics as he flung exploding baterangs. However Plasmus seemed to turn at just the right time that they only hit arms and legs, resulting in an explosion of limbs, but nothing crippling to Plasmus. Starfire was busy helping a very gooey Beastboy up from his prone position on the concrete.

Cyborg had taken position behind a car and was crouched, aiming his sonic cannon. Unfortunately, Cyborg was having about as much luck as Robin, since Plasmus kept flailing arms and moving erratically. And it was no winder, because small electric currents could be seen up at Plasmus' eye level. Bee was trying to get the thing to fall or become distracted by attacking his sight.

Raven inwardly sighed. It would be the messy creature she came home to. Honestly, she hated to get dirty. And it would take a lot of shower time to clean up properly. It would cut into her reunion with her friends and Raven was having none of that.

She looked at Mas y Menos. "Hold him in one position" she said, gesturing to Plasmus. They saluted and ran to circle the creature, effectively holding him in one place. She looked at Speedy and Aqualad. "Ice wall." indicating in front of them. Aqualad immediately tapped into the nearest water supply, a fire hydrant and created a wall of water. In seconds, Speedy had pulled and shot an arrow into the wall, creating a thick sheet of ice. Raven yelled, "Everyone behind the wall." All the Titans glanced at her but the Titans East didn't hesitate in the least. They moved behind the wall followed closely by the Titans West. Raven took up her lotus position and chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos" and her soul self moved into Plasmus. There she found the man who was Plasmus in his awakened state. Raven entered him and used her empathic power to put the man to sleep. As she flew back to her body, she felt the body of Plasmus give a shudder and exploded, leaving an exhausted Otto sleeping in a crater.

Raven's body opened her eyes just as the blob exploded against the wall of ice. Cyborg was grinning. He gave her a thumbs up and said, "Good thinking, Rae."

Raven tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I didn't want to shower a second time today. It takes forever to get Plasmus out of your hair."

That was all that was needed. The two groups exploded in smiles, and hellos, and hugs. Raven was squeezed by Beastboy and Starfire at once. Bee was surrounded by the boys and they were all happily exchanging hugs. As soon as Raven could breath, she was scooped up into Cys strong arms. "Dark Girl! Missed ya."

Raven squeezed back. "Miss you too." The two smiled at each other until there was a tap on Cys shoulder.

There stood Robin. He had a smile on his face and Raven was feeling euphoric. It was the only way she could explain it. She went from a bear hug with Cyborg to a tight embrace with Robin. His face was buried in her hair and he was breathing deep. She buried her face into the crook of her neck and he tightened his embrace. She hung tighter to his neck. The moment did not last long and there were no words exchanged. It was broken up quickly as high fives passed around and Bee came to give a small hug of her own.

But through all the celebration, Raven glanced a t Robin. He was still looking at her, a small smile on his face. Cyborg threw an arm around her and the connection was broken. He was smiling down at her. She was surrounded by love and laughter and Raven smiled back. She was home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX

OK, let's hope Raven is a bit more cooperative now. I am actually writing the next chapter as we speak, but this is the emotional stuff and she hates it.


	18. Morning Revelations

Raven stretched and reached up to wipe sleep from her eyes. Blearily she glanced over at the clock on her bedside table. It read six am. With a sigh she fell back against the pillows of her bed. It had been a very late night, or a very early morning depending on how you looked at things. The Titans had all been up into the wee small hours of the morning. The boys all taking turns playing video games, music playing in the background, and food galore. Though a few of the items deemed edible by Starfire had been highly questionable.

They had all tumbled into their respective beds just a few hours earlier, but Raven's internal alarm clock woke her. Fully awake, she lay staring at the dark ceiling of her room at Titans West. She had been so tired that she had not taken in any of the familiar surroundings. Now Raven lay in what should be so familiar to her and she frowned. Prior to her stay at Titans East, she had been perfectly content with her dark room. It had fit her. Dark, closed in, secretive.

But now she found herself missing the blue of her other room, the large plush bed, and bright morning sun glinting off the water. It seems that time had changed her in ways she had not even realized. She was actually missing the light. Raven rolled off her bed and headed to the shower, thinking of the room she had left behind and making mental note of a few changes she wanted done in the one she was currently occupying.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Raven walked into the kitchen a short time later and was not surprised to see she was not the only Titan up. What did surprise her was the pot of water just beginning to gently whistle and the mug awaiting her on the counter next to an unopened tea bag. Six months ago, this had not been unusual, but she had been gone a long time. Robin sat at the table sipping on his coffee as he read through the paper. He did not even raise his eyes to acknowledge her, but this had been their routine for years.

Raven poured hot water over the tea bag and walked slowly to the table, her hot mug cradled in her hands. Outside there was no snow, it was California after all, but there was a distinct chill in the air and Raven was grateful for the warmth let off by the mug.

She sat, and without her asking, Robin passed her a section of paper that he had finished. Without looking up he spoke, "There's a good picture of you after taking down Plasmus on the front page. Seems your arrival home is not just being celebrated by us."

With a raised brow Raven looked down at the paper. There on the front page was a picture of her as Cyborg swept her up in a homecoming hug. His face was glowing with happiness and pride as he swung her up and off the ground and off her feet. She was holding tight to his neck and the camera had managed to catch one of her rare grins. This was not a small lifting of the lips that was often times considered a Raven smile. No this was something different entirely. He eyes were lit up, her mouth was wide. In fact you could even see her teeth peaking through the slight parting of her lips.

Surrounding them were the other Titans. The East boys were swarming Bee, all giving her a big group hug. Star was flying towards Raven and Cy, ready to join the hug fest. BB Stood to the side watching Raven with a huge grin on his face. He was obviously waiting for his turn. And Robin stood to the other side. His arms were crossed in a relaxed pose and he was looking at the hugging pair with what looked like….. She couldn't name it. She wanted to say it was longing, but that was merely her feelings. A part of him looked content and happy. That was probably it. The family was back together and that was all he needed.

Raven looked to the caption, "Teen Titans Heroine returns home after a brief change of venue to Steel City, Home of the Titans East." She looked at the article, "Has our Raven returned to the nest or will she fly the coop again?"

She scanned the article and gave a small shrug. "It is a good picture."

Robin put down the paper and smiled at her. It was the first time she had allowed herself to really look at him since her arrival home. There had been so much going on that she had been able to push Robin and her feelings into the recesses of her mind. The hug he had given her had made her pulse jump and her heart had started to pound. During her time away she had been able to push Robin away. The thought of him was easily locked up behind a door, as easily as her personality traits. The old saying, out of sight, out of mind had worked. At least she thought it had. As she looked at him now she realized that she had been very wrong.

The time away had merely intensified the attraction. She had been able to fool herself for months, but the harsh reality was that she was in love with Robin. Before she had been able to tell herself it was nothing, a 'crush.' But Cyborg had known, he had seen what she could not. She was in love with Robin. It had been gradual, not all at once. It was in the way they talked, the way they didn't. the way they could read each other with just a glance. She was so comfortable with him that words were not needed. And of course there was physical attraction as well.

Robin was a good looking guy. Over the years his short stature had elongated. He now stood eye to eye with Starfire. He had always been muscled, but it was a lean muscle, like that of a swimmer. His face had filled out and his hair was now slightly too long for the infamous spikes. He had started to pull it back in a pony. This was not normally a look Raven would go for, but on Robin it looked right.

As she looked at him now, she found herself fighting off a blush. Robin had long ago forgone wearing his mask and uniform while in the tower. He sat before him in a muscle tee with hugged tight to his chest, in his classic Robin red. Loose pajama pants in black plaid hung low on his hips. His hair was pulled back, allowing Raven full view of his piercing blue eyes, which looked at her with mirth hidden in the depths. Raven quickly looked down, fighting back raising emotions. She took another sip of tea as his chuckle set her hearth racing again. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths to pull herself together.

"No, I'd have to say it's a historical picture. No one has ever been able to catch you smiling like that."

Raven, now once again in control, looked up. "Hardly. I smile all the time." she said in complete deadpan.

Robin snorted, "Oh yeah, all the time. They named you Chuckles for that very reason."

Raven gave him a haughty look and sniffed, "I do believe there is a distinct undertone of sarcasm in your voice."

Robin raised his mug in mock salute, "I learned from the queen."

A delicate brow again arched, "And don't you forget it."

Robin smiled and again looked down at the paper. He was quiet for a moment but soon looked up again, "I've missed this." It was a simple statement, but very powerful. Those few words caused Raven to make full eye contact with him.

It was then that Raven knew, no matter what her feelings, she would never leave him again. She would find a way to control her feelings. She always had. A calm she had not felt since returning to the tower settled upon her. She gave a quiet smile. "Me too."

Those were the words Robin needed to hear. She could see it in the way he relaxed his body into the chair. He gave a soft laugh and gestured towards the kitchen. "You know it took me weeks to stop putting the water on for you."

Raven glanced at her cup, "I was surprised to find you had today."

He shrugged, "What can I say? My sanity has been at stake here. I needed you here and I wasn't about to let your homecoming become a disappointment."

Raven startled at his words. "You needed me?" She had not meant to let the words escape. They had slipped out in her shock at his words.

He laughed again, "Of course. You try living with BB, Bee, Star, and Cy. No one knows how to just…..sit. Its been an insane asylum. Had you been gone much longer you would have found me wrapped up tight rocking in a corner completely out of my mind."

Raven laughed lightly to cover her disappointment. Of course that was what he needed her for. He had needed some peace. He had needed a friend. It had been foolish of her to think otherwise. She sighed lightly under her breath and spoke so quietly she wasn't sure he could even hear her words. "That's what friends are for."

Before he could respond, Raven raised her voice loudly. "Morning. There should be plenty of coffee."

Robin, startled, looked up to see the door to the common room open. There stood Auqualad. The young man chuckled. "Thanks Rae." He walked over to the kitchen to prepare a cup, and walked over to the table. He placed a hand upon her shoulder, leaning down to see the paper in front of her. He gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Nice picture Rae."

Raven rolled her eyes at him, "I guess this means the boys will be up soon too. I better get a session out of the way today before they invade." Raven stood, walking to the door, not bothering to look at the boys left at the table. Aqualad slipped into her spot and began to read the article. Neither seemed to notice the change in Robin. He had stiffened and frowned slightly at the invasion and he had clutched his coffee tightly as Aqualad touched Raven. Now he stared as the girl slowly left the room, confusion etched in his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Soon the day had begun in earnest. Just as Raven had predicted, the tower soon began to stir and come to life. Despite the lack of sleep, the heroes were used to little sleep and early wake up calls. Cy and Bee were up not long after Aqualad and Star came floating in close behind. Speedy wandered in, sporting low slung jeans and a wet towel draped over his shoulders with little else on. The last to arrive were Mas y Menos and Beastboy.

People soon began to wander in and out of the common room. The sizzle of bacon and the clink of plates soon filled the room with noise. Stories were picked up where they left off and the paper was passed around. Coffee flowed freely and the morning was soon abuzz with activity and life.

Raven returned feeling rejuvenated after her morning meditation session. By this time most of the party were dressed and were finishing their morning meal. Speedy, one of the later ones to arrive, still stood with no shirt, bare feet, and a slightly damp head from his shower. Raven rolled her eyes. "Put it away Casanova, no one here wants to see it."

Speedy waggled his eyebrows at her, "Oh I wouldn't say that. It got your attention didn't it? Mission complete."

This earned a glare from more than one of the Titans West boys. Cy gave a warning growl, "Watch it with my sister, Carrotop."

Speedy put his hands up in mock surrender, "Whooh, down boy. I was merely pointing out to my esteemed colleague here that despite her protests, she was looking and if she really didn't care that she would not have brought it to anyone's attention."

Raven crossed her arms, "I do not believe I said it as a compliment. I may noticed your lack of attire, however, I did not compliment it."

Speedy grinned at her, "Princess, with you, any attention is good attention as far as I'm concerned."

There was a collective groan at the line and Raven rolled her eyes again. Speedy chuckled," What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment. Especially coming from the Dark Princess." He said with a suggestive tone to his voice.

With that, Cy took a menacing step towards the slightly smaller man. Speedy, laughing, backed up. "OK, OK, sorry. But I couldn't help it." Before anyone could say anything else, black energy encased the towel adorning Speedy's neck. It rose into the air and then, SNAP! Speedy yelped in pain at the towel cracked his soundly on the butt.

Raven gave a sweet, innocent smile. "What was that?"

Speedy rubbed his wound, "Ouch Rae, that hurt." He tried to give her wounded puppy dog eyes, but they held only laughter despite the pitiful face. Raven smiled again in that sweet way of hers and again snapped him with the towel.

Speedy jumped back to avoid another snap and then another. Soon he was being chased out of the room while the other titans, most of them anyway, were falling onto each other in laughter. Speedy yelled out, "OK, I give I'll go put a damn shirt on."

Raven smiled and nodded in satisfaction. She failed to notice the eyes watching her however. Cy watched with knowing eyes and a small smile while Robin watched with resignation and defeat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day the titans had all dispersed into smaller groups. Bee and Starfire had gone shopping for last minute Christmas gifts. Everyone was to meet up at the mall later for a movie and some pizza.

Beastboy and Mas y Menos were battling it out on the gaming system while Aqualad watched, laughing at their antics.

Speedy was off on a motorcycle ride to who knows where. Probably involving a girl he had made eye contact with yesterday.

Robin was training on the newest course, blowing off some energy and irritation, though Raven could not fathom what he was so irritated about. She had tried to talk to him about it but he had merely shrugged, refusing to answer. This of course had put her into a foul mood and she had gone her own way.

Cyborg knew his little sister well. He had given her a little time to vent her frustration and then he went in search of her. He found Raven curled up on her chair in the garage. She was staring at a book but wasn't really seeing the words at all.

He spoke softly, trying not to startle her. "Hey Sunshine."

Her body jerked so slightly that had he not known to look for it he would not have noticed the movement. This made him smile. He usually didn't catch her by surprise. That just showed how much her thoughts were wrapped up.

In a monotone voice she answered just as quietly, "Hey."

Cyborg walked forward to the stool next to the tool bench. "So you have two options. You can stay mute and I can bother you nonstop til you spill your guts, or you can just tell me what's wrong." He leaned back with arms crossed waiting for the young girl to answer.

Raven didn't move. She sat completely still and silent. It was something only Raven could do. There could be hurricane winds and Raven would be as still and as calm as the eye of the storm. Maybe that was because her body was the eye of the storm,. Her powers, her emotions, her parentage, all carried with it chaos. Maybe that was how she managed to keep herself so still, because if she didn't she would be carried away in all the chaos that was her.

Most never saw the chaos, but the Titans West had. They had seen what was bubbling just below the surface and they had done what they could to help her keep the control she needed. At first the stillness had been creepy. No one could do that. It was a bit scary, and yet as time went on it became just another part of Raven. It was something that made her special, that held her apart from others and Cyborg had come to adore this quality. Trust be told, he envied it. Even in the most dire situations she could maintain serenity. And yet, when she was like this it usually meant that emotions where raging within her. She was fighting a battle inside and you never had any indication which side was winning. All he could do was wait it out.

This time it was a brief battle. She sighed and placed the book on her lap. Raven leaned back her head and closed her eyes, sinking into the plushness of her chair. Her eyes opened from her relaxed position and made contact with Cyborg. "It's different."

Cy waited for her to continue, but she didn't. He prodded her a bit. "What's different?"

He could see her mind race as it tried to put into words what was going on, "Being back home. I knew it would be. At least a little bit. You can't leave home for that long and not expect some changes. But they are supposed to be minor. You expect that so little has changed you can just melt back into the fold, but you forget. Its not the place that changes, its you."

Raven fell silent again. Cy leaned back, giving her space to collect her thoughts. After a moment she started again, "Before I left, he would have never walked away from me. I would ask him what was wrong and sometimes he would be evasive, but he would never just walk away. Today that's exactly what he did."

Raven looked up at the man she considered family. For once there was real questioning in her eyes. They were wide and sad and Cyborg wanted nothing more than to crush her into a hug. And yet, if he did that he wasn't sure she would continue. No one had ever seen Raven cry, and he was damned if he was gonna be the one that pushed her over that edge.

Softly, Raven pled with him for an answer, "Have I really changed so much that I no longer belong?"

That was it. Cy was off the stool and in front of her. He sat on his knees, her hands held in his. "No Rae, no. You will always belong."

"Then why did he walk away?"

Cy gave a humorless laugh and shook his head, "Because he is an idiot and doesn't know how to handle the change in himself."

This answer seemed to bring Raven out of her mood. She gave into the curiosity, "What changes? I mean he's a bit moodier than normal, but I haven't noticed any changes."

Cy sat back so he was sitting on the floor, but he still held onto one of her hands. It wasn't the most comfortable position but her wasn't ready to break the physical connection. Not yet. "For an empath, you are so clueless."

Raven playfully pushed Cy to the ground and freed her hand allowing her to cross her arms, "Not this old topic."

Cyborg laughed as he picked himself off the ground. He dusted himself off and went to the tool bench, looking through the items there. "I'm not the only one to notice. When you left, Rob had a major stick up his arse." Finding the correct tool, Cyborg walked over to one of every day cars. They had acquired a handful of vehicles that were less noticeable when they wanted to go out on the town without being the Titans. He popped the hood and began to tinker. "Had us up at all hours training. He would leave the common room in the morning as soon as any of us came in. He started to get downright anti-social for awhile there. Hey, grab me that wrench will you?"

Raven got up and did as he asked. Cy continued, "He would have your tea ready to go for weeks and just scowl at it for hours after breakfast was over. I mean he is still Robin, just a really moody one. He still played video games and cracked jokes, but it was like he was irritated all the time. Kinda like earlier, though more extreme. After he would talk to you though, things would get better for a little bit."

Cy glanced up and Raven raised a brow, inviting him to continue. He shrugged and leaned back over the car, "He's realizing that he doesn't work the same without you, that he misses you when you are gone. He's realizing he has feelings for you and rather than confront change, he wants everything to go back to the way it was, but he cant."

Raven smiled a bit, "I already knew about the missing me. He told me as much today at breakfast. He said you were all driving him to the loony bin and he was glad to have his one quiet friend back."

It was Cy's turn to roll his eyes, "Yeah his 'friend', Rae."

She obviously had decided to ignore that. She was much more relaxed as she now understood why he was being so irritable. "So why did he just walk away Mr. Know-it-all?"

"Seriously?" Cyborg was beginning to find great amusement over this conversation. "They were touching you."

Raven went back to being confused. He could see it in her face. As an empath you would think she could understand the emotions, but over the years Cyborg had come to understand something else. Raven had been taught that emotions were bad and she had locked them away. It meant that though the empath was extremely intelligent, she was ignorant in other ways. She could identify emotions, most of the time. But when it came to the reasons why an emotion came out, Raven was clueless.

"They always touch me. It's rather annoying at times."

Cy shrugged, "Yes, but we don't touch you." Raven opened her mouth to respond that of course they touched her but she quickly closed it. "It's not a big deal Rae. We have a different relationship with you. We've known you through different circumstances."

Cy stood and began to wipe greasy hands on a blue rag. He turned and looked at her and smiled. "We knew you when going to a club was a dangerous activity for you rather than an annoying one. We learned that when you said stop or that you couldn't do something, it was not because you didn't want to do it, more like you couldn't do it without causing harm to yourself or others. We accepted that. Heck Rae, we watched you destroy the world. If you said no, we damn well listened.

"But these guys, they don't know that side of you. And you have grown a lot. You have more control than you used to. When you say no, they take it as a challenge and that's a good thing. We forget to push you past your comfort zone because we are so used to just letting it be. They treat you as a friend and they like to push your buttons because they have never seen the wrong button pushed. They have brought you so far out of your shell its amazing. You are smiling more, you are allowing physical contact. You are starting to be comfortable with emotions and I think someone else needed to bring that out of you. They aren't scared that they will lose you if they push too hard."

Cy reached down and put his hands on her shoulders, "I thank them for this. I wont lie, its hard to see how close you are to them, but that's because I feel like I should have known to push you more and I feel like I let you down. But I know that I can now push you further and I can be even closer to you. That's the thing with Rob. Its always been us, no one else has even come close to breaking those walls and now it feels like you are closer to them than you are with any of us. You and he had your routines and silent communication and now he has to re-evaluate whether that is still there. It is, he just needs to work it out."

Cyborg pulled her into a tight hug and she automatically squeezed him back. When he pulled back he grinned down at her. He was ready to change the mood. Enough of this heavy talk. "Besides, he saw how Speedy was looking at you. That really pissed him off."

Raven laughed, "Please, Speedy just likes to irritate me. Its his favorite pastime."

"You know what that means to guys right Rae?"

"Do enlighten me."

"He likes you. Not that I can blame him. My lil sis is pretty amazing. A pain in the ass, but amazing nonetheless. As an empath I know you didn't miss the heated looks he was sending your way."

Raven shrugged, "No. And I'll admit there is attraction. He's a good looking guy."

Those words stopped Cy cold. He frowned slightly. "And is this attraction….mutual?"

Raven took a small breath and looked right at her friend, "I think so. Its not the same as the full blown butterflies I get when I see Robin, but he and I seem to…. Click I guess."

Cy was quiet for a moment. This was something he had not expected. Sure he had noticed Speedy's attraction to Rae, but he had not noticed the attraction from her side. Then again he had only seen the two in group settings and it had only been a day. As he thought back he had noticed Speedy in her vicinity and they had been playful with each other. Cy rubbed at tense neck muscles. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I mean when you left you were convinced that you would never be able to be in a relationship. Is that something that has changed as well?"

Raven was careful as she chose her words. "I'm not sure. But he has pushed me further than I thought possible. Physical contact, intense emotions, new situations, all of these things he throws at me and yet I maintain the control I need."

Cy frowned. The little playboy was not someone he would have ever picked for Rae. Sure he liked Speedy, but he wasn't really the settle down type and that was what Rae deserved. Raven sensed this and spoke again. "You know, when I met him, all I thought was that he was such a little playboy. Always needing attention and praise. But as I got to know him, he's really rather sweet. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. He helps the twins with learning new games. He and Aqualad have debates all the time and he really listens. He seems to sense when I can handle being pushed even before I can and yet he knows when he needs to back off quickly. He reads me well and he brings out parts of myself I never noticed."

Cy's frown faded. "What about your thing for Robin?" At her look he allowed a smile, "Just humor me. Call it a hypothetical world."

She shrugged, "What about him? As I said, he's got Star.I was never a choice in the equation. I think Robin will always hold a part of me, but I knew that long ago. We have a connection that no one else has and that is something I cannot hide or get rid of. I was always OK with that because I never saw us as a possibility. Then again, I never saw any relationship as a possibility. Now, I have a chance to be a part of something I only dreamed of. Its not the same as my feelings for Robin, but no two loves are the same. I'm not saying that we will or will not date, but it is a possibility."

Cyborg whistled, "God, I let you leave for a few months and you come back all grown up." Raven punched his arm. He chuckled, "Sorry Rae. I guess you really have made some changes."

She nodded and Cy gave a small smile, "OK. I still think you should talk to Robin, but I am glad you have at least opened yourself up to the idea of love. If you think that Carrotop may be the one, I'm willing to give him a chance."

"How magnanimous of you." He laughed and slung an arm over her shoulders as they headed for the stairs. It was time to get ready for the movies.

"I know. I try."

"Glad to know you trust my judgment when it comes to my own love life."

"Oh, I don't. But I'll extend this courtesy. That's what big brothers are for."

"Oh thank you." Her voice dripped sarcasm.

"No prob, Rae. I'll trust that you know him better than I do." Cy's voice went cold, "But if he hurts you, I hurt him back."

Raven glanced at his cold eyes. She nodded, "Understood, however I draw the line at murder."

Cyborg laughed, but there was something in his voice as he answered, "Of course, Rae."

They were halfway up the stairs when he added, "It's not murder if you cant find the body."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ok, so sorry this took so long. In my defense, I am working two jobs and taking some classes so I have limited free time. Also, Raven is a pain to write some times. She flat out refuses to work with me when it comes to this emotional stuff. I have the ending all wrapped up, it's the stuff in between that needs tweaking.

For those of you wanting this to end up Speedy/Rae, *sigh* a part of me wants that too, but alas it is not meant to be…. This time. I have a Speedy/Rae fic in the works but I need to finish this one or I never will. Thank you for all the reviews and encouragement. Those messages keep reminding me to get off my arse and get writing! I plan on finishing soon, though there are at least two more chappies left.


End file.
